The HatakeNamikaze Bloodline
by AlyDarkAngelYanna
Summary: Natsumi Suki Uzumaki, also known as the Kyuubi's jailor, Kakashi Hatake's fiancee and the legacy of the Fourth Hokage. This is her life. Kaka/femnaru. Most characters are OOC. First story.
1. Prologue: A New Beginning

A small child with dark hair dressed in a blue shirt and white shorts ran. Tears streamed down his face as he pushed on to his destination. The white and red fan that symbolised his clan stuck to the back of his shirt like a target. His legs burned with the effort, his lungs yearned for more air and yet he continued. He couldn't stop, not when his imoutou was in trouble.

"_Please be safe, Natsu-chan,"_ he thought as he ran. _"Why did you do it aniki? Did you really have to kill the whole clan?" _were the thoughts that dominated the young boy's mind as he neared his destination. _"Maybe it _was_ for the best. They were becoming too obsessed with their doujutsu. They thought they were invincible because of those damnable eyes." _the five-year-old thought bitterly.

His thoughts flew out of his mind and he stopped cold when he heard angry shouts coming from his younger sister's bedroom.

"Damn demon!" a man's angry voice echoed in his ears. "Why don't you just take it? If you stay still it will be so much better for you," the man continued.

"Please stop it!" a young girl's voice sounded from the same room. "I never did anything to you." A round of raucous laughter was the reply to her pleas.

"You never did anything to us?" a new voice said. "You killed our families! You ravaged this village until it was almost gone! You took our hokage from us, our sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers and children!"

"I didn't! It wasn't me!" the girl denied all accusations.

"What we're about to do to you isn't enough of a payback for what you have done!" the sound of tearing fabric reached the young boy's ears and he tensed.

"No!" Sasuke shouted from the living room. His chakra flared, his eyes flashed red and then he was a blur of motion. The intruders never knew what came to them. In the next moment there was blood everywhere and Sasuke had taken a small blonde girl into his arms. Both of them were soaked in the red liquid and yet they acted as if nothing was there.

"Sasuke-aniki?" the small girl turned frightened blue eyes to the young boy holding her.

"Shhh..." Sasuke soothed. "It's alright Natsu, they won't get you. No one will hurt you as long as I'm here." He promised.

"I know aniki," Natsu smiled even as her eyes drooped. "I'm so tired..."

Sasuke Uchiha, the last of the once great clan, cradled the small body of the four year old girl. He held her protectively as he looked around them, face impassive as he looked at the dead eyes of the men who were about to attack her sister.

"_Hawk was supposed to be here," _he thought. _"It's his shift tonight. Where the hell was he? There's no point in looking for him. I need to talk to the hokage." _ He thought decisively. The small girl moved in his arms, her small hands clutching at his shirt; he smiled softly at her. He wrapped her snugly in a thick blanket before setting off.

Sasuke was once again on the run. His pace was slower as he had a small bundle in his arms but he kept going. The hokage tower loomed over him and his lips turned into a thin line as he thought about the upcoming talk with the old leader. He entered the double doors into an empty room which was usually filled with ninjas reporting after a mission. He climbed the stairs up to the third floor where the office of their leader was.

The two ANBU tensed at the sight of the bloody boy with an equally bloody bundle in his arms. The dark haired young man walked calmly towards them, his dark eyes brimming with determination. He came to a stop in front of them; the look he gave them seemed to pass through their porcelain masks.

"I need to speak with Lord Hokage," he said formally despite his appearance.

"He has given specific instructions that he was not to be disturbed," the one with the tiger mask said just as formally.

"This is an emergency. The Uchiha clan has been slaughtered," Sasuke said. This made the two ANBU even more wary of the boy.

"Impossible!" the one with the dolphin mask exclaimed. "Stop lying you little brat!" he shouted as another ANBU came speeding through the window.

"I must speak with Lord Hokage at once," the cat-masked ANBU said hastily. She froze at the sight of the small boy and the small girl covered in blood.

"Sasuke-chan?" she asked the dark-haired boy.

"Neko-neechan, thank God you're here," Sasuke turned his attention to the newly-arrived person. "I need to speak to jii-chan; something terrible happened!"

"You were there?" Neko asked. "Sasuke, were you there when it happened?" she asked frantically.

"No I wasn't," Sasuke replied. "I was out late practicing. When I came home I saw everyone dead."

"The Uchiha clan cannot be killed! They are Konoha's strongest clan!" Dolphin argued.

"It's true," Neko confirmed Sasuke's story. "They are all dead. I passed by the Uchiha district on the way back from my mission. Now will you let us in or do I have to kick your ass?" she turned angrily to the two guards.

"Neko-neechan, please stop shouting," a small voice said. They all turned to Sasuke whose bundle was moving. Blonde hair popped up followed by a small head. Sleepy blue eyes looked around and smiled at the sight of the cat-masked ANBU. "Are we here?" Natsu asked Sasuke. He nodded in response. Natsu smiled widely at him then turned towards the door. "Can you put me down aniki?" wide blue eyes stared pleadingly at onyx orbs. "Please?" she begged cutely. Sasuke sighed then let her down. She started walking to the door but was stopped when Dolphin grabbed the nape of her neck roughly.

"You can't go in there, you demon!" he shouted at the terrified girl. The next few moments were a blur of motion. No one saw how he did it but the next thing both Neko and Tiger saw was a sight to behold. Dolphin lay on the floor with Sasuke on top of him. The dark-haired boy's eyes were red in the signature that was the Uchiha's doujutsu. The single tomoe spun rapidly in his rage. Natsu was on his back, her small arms around the boy's neck to keep herself steady, her legs wrapped around his waist. A web of cracks appeared at the corners of Dolphin's mask.

"Don't you dare call her that!" Sasuke snarled at his captive. "She is not a demon! She is a girl, a human being just like you and me. If I hear you call her a demon ever again I will kill you, got it?" he threatened the elite ninja under him. Dolphin could only nod dumbly, still awestruck that a mere five year old could get him into that kind of situation.

"What is going on here?" the aged hokage asked them.

"Jii-chan!" Natsu exclaimed happily. She let go of Sasuke and jumped happily into the old man's arms.

"Natsu?" Sarutobi said in wonder of the girl's appearance. "What happened?"

"Jii-chan, can we talk inside your office?" Natsu asked, sounding much older than her four years.

"Alright, let's go inside," he conceded. "Sasuke, please get off Dolphin. He will be punished later."

"Jii-chan, can Neko-neechan come with us?" Sasuke asked as he got up. "She will testify to what I'm about to tell you."

"Of course," the old man said. The four then entered the office, leaving the still bewildered Dolphin on the floor with an equally shocked Tiger staring at the door.

"Now tell me what happened," the aged leader said as he sat down with Natsu still in his arms. Red flakes showered the floor as the young girl wiggled about, looking for a more comfortable spot on the older man's lap.

"I was out late practicing behind the school," Sasuke began as he sat down in front of the hokage. "I came home at about seven and I noticed that the whole district was too quiet. I could feel someone watching, it made me wary of the place. It was too dark and I could barely see anything," he started to shake from the memories of the earlier night. Neko put a comforting hand on his shoulder as the tears started to stream down his face. His eyes closed, his hands clenched into a fist as he trembled in anger. "When I reached my house, I found my parents in the dojo with Itachi-aniki standing over them. His back was to me but I could see that he was crying because his shoulders were shaking. He was probably mourning for our mother. He then turned to me and said, 'Someday, you'll understand what I did otoutou.' After that, he vanished and then I heard Natsu's whistle. I ran to her house to find that there were three men in her bedroom. I listened quietly and it seemed as if they didn't notice that I was there. Then I heard the sound of clothes ripping and I lost it. Next thing I know, I had taken imoutou-chan in my arms and then ran here. What happened outside, well Neko-neechan can tell you about it," he said wearily.

Neko embraced the small boy, knowing that he was in so much pain. To find your family dead and your sister in trouble was too much for the five year old. Sasuke shook with the sobs that wracked his chest. Tears flowed freely and he couldn't stop them. Natsu rose from her seat on the old man's lap and ran to her older brother. She hugged him, her small arms wrapped around his waist.

"Don't cry aniki," she said. "Itachi-niichan will be back, I know he will." She said decisively. Sasuke embraced her in return and sobbed into her small neck.

"I don't want to lose anyone else," he cried.

"Don't worry," Natsu replied. "I'm still here and I won't leave you, ever."

It took moments before Sasuke calmed down but when he did, he was coherent enough to understand the old man's next words.

"Itachi Uchiha must be listed in the bingo book," Sarutobi said grimly.

"No!" Sasuke protested. "He should not be listed in the bingo book for saving everyone's lives!"

"What do you mean Sasuke-chan?" Neko asked.

"My father was planning a coup d'etat," he replied. "He wanted to rise against the village, start a civil war so that the Uchiha clan can lead Konoha."

"Do you have any proof of this?" Sarutobi asked.

"If you need paper trails and other documents proving this you can search the Uchiha district. Anything you may come across with that you can't open, just call for me," Sasuke sighed. He looked so much older than his five years.

"What do we do about Natsu?" Neko asked.

"She will either stay with me or I stay with her," Sasuke said before the aged hokage could say anything. "I refuse to allow those barbarians to hurt her anymore than they already did."

"Sasuke, you must understand that no one could know that you are with her," Sarutobi tried to reason. "They will hurt anyone close to her."

"I don't care. We are staying together or we are going to run and find aniki," Sasuke threatened.

"Where will you stay?" the leader asked.

"We'll find someplace else to stay. I don't want to go back to the Uchiha district and she is not going back to that hellhole you call an apartment." He clutched Natsu closer to him. She had fallen asleep sometime during the conversation.

"But the villagers will find your new home and ravage it just like they did to her old one!" Sarutobi said.

"If you had been paying attention to your ANBU you would've known that they were not doing their jobs!" Sasuke retorted. "Hawk was nowhere to be seen when I got to Natsu's place. He was supposed to be there, protecting her. He must've been out as usual screwing some whore he picked up from the bar."

"How do you know that?" Neko asked.

"I saw him once when I was out late practicing again," Sasuke replied. "It was aniki's turn to watch Natsu. I was already late for dinner so I thought 'why not go out to see my imoutou?' I was on my way to her place when I saw Hawk drunk off his ass with two women clinging to both his arms. I asked aniki about it when I got there and he only said that people have their own ways to cope with life."

"_Is this really a five year old child?" _Neko thought. _"He speaks as though he's years older. And he's already activated his Sharingan and made his first kill."_

"Sasuke, are you aware that you've just taken a life?" Neko asked.

"Yes, I am," he replied calmly. "It wasn't my first kill if that's what you're worried about," he said.

"It wasn't?" Sarutobi asked.

"The first time was about two years ago when I first met Natsu," he relayed. "She was in trouble then and I thought I needed to help her. A mob was chasing her and they were carrying all kinds of weapons with them. I had just gotten a kunai set for my birthday so I started throwing blindly from my spot behind a tree. I hit two of them before the ANBU showed up."

"When did you activate your Sharingan?" Neko asked.

"That happened tonight when I saved Natsu again," Sasuke said tiredly.

"You can come home with me," Neko offered. "Even if it's just for tonight while Lord Hokage and I try to clear up this mess."

"Thank you Neko-neechan," Sasuke said gratefully. He then turned to the old hokage. "Jii-chan please, promise me that you won't try to erase our memories of tonight," he begged. "It won't turn out well. If I think that Itachi killed our clan in cold blood, I will betray the village for power."

"I promise Sasuke," Sarutobi replied. "Now, off you go." He turned to his ANBU. "Neko, will you please call Ryu and Hebi? I need them to investigate the Uchiha clan for me."

"I will sir," she said then picked up the two children. "Don't let go of Natsu alright Sasuke?" she asked.

"I won't nee-chan," he said.

"We'll have to stop by at the HQ to call for Hebi and Ryu and then we can go home," she promised. Sasuke only nodded in reply.

Neko jumped through the window and moved in the direction of the ANBU headquarters. She was careful not to jostle the children too much as she ran above the roofs. She reached the HQ and was allowed permission in.

Sasuke looked around the headquarters for the two people they were sent to call. He spotted Hebi in the locker room. She was wrapped in a towel, her hair still damp from her shower. It looked as if she had just gotten back from a mission.

"Neko-nee, Hebi-nee is by her locker," Sasuke told the woman carrying him. Neko was quick to look in the direction Sasuke told her.

"Anko!" she called to the woman who was dressing up. The purple haired ninja looked up to find Neko walking in her direction with a bloody package in her hands.

"Yuugao!" she exclaimed. "What the hell happened to you?"

"There's no time to explain right now," Neko, now known as Yuugao said. "Lord Hokage has asked me to call for you and Iruka. The Uchiha clan has been slaughtered by Itachi and he needs you two to find evidence of the coup that Sasuke had told us his father had been planning."

"Sasu-chan how is he?" Anko asked worriedly.

"I'm right here Anko-nee," Sasuke spoke up from Yuugao's arms.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" Anko exclaimed. "What are you carrying a bloody blanket for?" she asked when she finally noticed that Sasuke's arms were filled as well.

"It's Natsu," he said quietly. "There were some men who were trying to hurt her. They were in her bedroom and they tore her clothes off. I didn't have time to put new ones on her because I had to tell jii-chan about the massacre."

Anko stared at the bloody bundle, appalled at what had been said to her. "Did they hurt her? Is she alright? I swear, if I get my hands on them I will..." she couldn't finish what she wanted to say, her anger getting the better of her.

"There's nothing to worry about," Sasuke began. "I killed all three of them before they could go any further. And no, it wasn't my first kill," he answered the question that bubbled in her lips.

"Ok, I'll have to report to Lord Sarutobi then," Anko conceded. They were then joined by the other person they were supposed to look for.

"Anko-chan, are you done?" Iruka Umino, teacher at the ninja academy by day, Ryu-ANBU at night froze at the sight of the bloodied Sasuke.

"Sasuke, what happened to you?" he asked as he walked to the boy worriedly.

"I don't have time to explain," Sasuke began. "Long story short, my clan has been killed by my brother and Natsu was about to be raped but I saved her. Now, jii-chan needs you and Anko-nee to investigate. He'll explain everything. If you need me or Natsu we'll be at Yuugao-nee's house." He said tiredly. By the time he had finished talking Anko had finished dressing up in her signature mesh shirt and skirt topped by a beige coat.

"Let's go!" Anko called to Iruka. "We'll drop by when we're done," she promised Sasuke then dropped a kiss on both children's heads and they were off.

"Alright, let's go home so we can clean you up and then you can go to sleep," Yuugao told the then tired Sasuke. He simply nodded, too emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted to argue.


	2. Chapter 1

Five years later

"Clone jutsu!" a petite blonde girl shouted. A distorted copy of the girl popped into existence but once again disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "Let's face it. I'll never be able to make a usable clone," she said sullenly.

"You just have to work on it Natsu-chan," a dark haired young boy told her.

"Yeah, just like you have to work on Hina-chan," she smiled cheekily at her older brother.

"Shut it Natsu, she might hear you!" Sasuke replied with a pink tinge across his nose.

"Who might hear her?" a gentle voice asked from behind Sasuke. He turned hurriedly to find a small girl looking at him with a slightly worried expression. She had blackish-blue hair and lavender eyes with no pupils – the signature of the Hyuuga clan.

"He was worried that you might hear me talking about..." Natsu trailed off as Sasuke clamped a hand over her mouth. She bit said appendage which made Sasuke jump away from her and shoot her an angry glare. "Never mind, he clearly doesn't want me to tell you. Hina-chan, can you help me? I still can't make a decent clone."

"Have you tried experimenting on other clones?" Hinata asked Natsu, completely forgetting about the only boy in the group.

"What do you mean?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"I mean using the elements; try making water clones, earth clones and so," Hinata explained.

"That's actually a great idea!" another voice joined them. The three kids turned towards the tree from whence the voice came from. There sat a man of twenty-three holding a recognizable orange book. He had silver hair and a mask covered the lower half of his face. His hitaite was placed haphazardly on his forehead so that it covered his left eye.

"Kashi!" Natsu exclaimed and proceeded to climb the tree. Kakashi Hatake made room for the petite girl so that she was able to sit comfortably on his lap. "Where have you been? I missed you." Natsu snuggled to his chest. He embraced her tightly in return.

"I missed you too Natsu-chan," he replied. He kissed the top of her head, ignoring the menacing glare that Sasuke was throwing in his direction. "I had a mission and I just got back."

"You haven't gone home?" she asked.

"No, I had to see you," Kakashi told the girl.

"Kakashi, need I remind you that Natsu is only nine?" Sasuke cut in before Natsu could respond.

"I know that Sasuke, and believe me when I say that I can't wait until she's old enough," Kakashi retorted.

"Get down here!" Sasuke exploded.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked confusedly.

"Nothing you have to worry about," Kakashi assured.

"Kakashi-niichan, you said something about elemental clones?" Hinata ran damage control before things got too heated up.

"Oh, that's right. Thank you for reminding me Hinata-chan," he said then jumped down from the tree with Natsu still in his arms. "We can start with shadow clones and then we'll find out what your elemental affinities are," Kakashi said.

"Shadow clones?" Natsu asked. "I already know how to do those."

"How do you know?" Sasuke asked.

"Kyuu-chan taught me how to make shadow clones," she replied.

"Kyu-chan?" Kakashi asked.

"You might know her better as Kyuubi," Natsu said dismissively. "Anyway, she told me that normal clones are near impossible for me to make because of our combined chakra so she taught me shadow clones."

"You can talk to Kyuubi?" Kakashi asked worriedly.

"Yes I can," Natsu replied annoyed at the interruption. "And no, she didn't mean to tear the whole village apart. It wasn't her fault. She is also not evil and yes, Kyuubi is a girl. Anymore unnecessary questions?" she asked.

"Does Lord Hokage know?" he asked.

"Yes he does, now is there anything more you want to know or can I show you the shadow clone?"

"I'm done for the moment," Kakashi conceded.

"Okay, here I go. Shadow clone jutsu!" she shouted with her fingers in a cross sign. Five perfect and solid replicas of her appeared.

"Who taught you that?" two women asked the child. The group turned towards them. One had dark hair, the other purple. They were dressed in casual clothes but the children knew that they were battle-ready as always.

"Anko-nee, Yuugao-nee!" Natsu greeted enthusiastically.

"Who taught you to do that Natsu-chan?" the dark-haired woman known as Yuugao repeated the question.

"Kyu-chan did!" Natsu said proudly.

"Oh. Did she teach you anything else?" the purple-haired woman named Anko asked.

"No, she didn't. She said she was too tired to teach me anything else," Natsu replied. "She also said something about the difficulty of connecting our minds or something like that."

"What?" the three adults asked. Sasuke and Hinata took to practicing, having heard the story once before.

"Well, she said that I wasn't even supposed to be able to talk to her until I was twenty-one," Natsu explained. She sat down on the ground knowing it was going to be a long talk. "She told me that because of the attempts on my life, it made it easier for her to build a connection to me."

"So basically, you're able to talk to her because you've been put through a lot as a kid?" Yuugao asked.

"Yep." She replied cheerfully.

"Natsu, come on it's time to drop Hinata-chan off," Sasuke called.

"Bye, Anko-nee, Yuugao-nee," she said and gave both women a hug. "Bye Kashi," she said goodbye and kissed him on the cheek. She then ran off towards her best friend and her older brother. Kakashi turned to the women once the children had disappeared from their view.

"How come you all know that she can speak to Kyuubi?" he asked them somewhat enviously.

"How long have you been gone?" Yuugao asked instead of answering his question.

"My last mission lasted three months," he replied.

"That explains it," Anko said. "She started speaking to Kyuubi about a month ago. At first she thought she was dreaming but then it started happening during practice. She would just start staring off to space."

"You're not worried?" he asked.

"No," Anko said. "Kyuubi is not evil. We already spoke to her and she told us that someone with the Sharingan forced her to attack the village."

"And you believed her?"

"Is there any reason why a ten thousand-year-old demon would lie to us mere mortals?" Yuugao asked.

"Oh I don't know; maybe she wants to break free and then kill us all?" Kakashi replied.

"She won't do that," Anko said. "Believe me when I tell you that she does not want to hurt Natsu. She told us that in the demon realm children are treasured because only a few demons bear them and they only come every thousand years. What the villagers did to Natsu, and still are doing to her, is unacceptable. Kyuubi might kill the villagers for that but not for any other reason."

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes we are," Anko answered. "You can talk to Lord Hokage about it if you don't believe us. Besides, you do need to report to him about your last mission."

"Alright," Kakashi finally conceded; he shunshined to the hokage tower with a wave to the women.

Natsu caught up to Hinata and Sasuke. She stayed behind them waiting for her big brother to make a move on the dark haired girl but he was either too shy or simply too stupid to even try making a move. They turned towards the noble district of Konoha as one, their arms brushing lightly against the other's. The prankster in Natsu decided it was finally time for the two to say something about their relationship and so Natsu waited.

"Hiashi-jii!" Natsu shouted as Sasuke and Hinata turned towards the Hyuuga manor. She ran past them, bumping against Sasuke in the process. In his desperation not to fall, Sasuke grabbed Hinata's arm who in her surprise lost her balance. They both toppled over with Hinata on top of Sasuke in a rather compromising position. Shocked onyx orbs gazed up into embarrassed lavender ones.

"_She's so cute when she blushes," _Sasuke thought seeing the pink tinge across Hinata's nose.

"A-ano, Sasuke-kun," Hinata stuttered. "I'm sorry." She said and moved to get off him but couldn't move due to the pair of arms that was holding her tight.

"Hina-chan, can I tell you something?" Sasuke asked.

"What is it Sasuke-kun?"

"I like you."

"I-I like you too," Hinata answered.

"No, I mean I like you. I really, really like you," Sasuke blushed at his proclamation while the girl atop him froze. Imagining the worst, Sasuke's embarrassed smile turned into a frown and his arms moved to let go of her. As if woken by the movement Hinata spoke.

"You like me?" she asked, her voice high and unsure. Sasuke turned to look at her and found that she was looking at him unbelievingly. Unsure of how to answer the question, he kissed her cheek just as a white flash blinded them both.

"Blackmail!" Natsu exclaimed followed by her tinkling laugh.

"Natsu, that's enough. Leave them alone," a stern voice ordered. A man with long brown hair, pale eyes with no pupils and wearing a white kimono emerged from the gates.

"Hiashi-jii!" Natsu exclaimed once more and then ran towards the older man. He ruffled her hair affectionately and turned to the new couple who had just gotten up from the ground and had begun patting their clothes. They both had noticeable blushes adorning their pale faces.

"Good afternoon Sasuke, Hinata," the man now known as Hiashi greeted the young couple.

"Good afternoon Hiashi-dono," Sasuke answered.

"Good afternoon father," Hinata answered.

"Hiashi-dono, might I ask permission to take Hinata out on a date tonight?" Sasuke asked. Hinata turned to her new boyfriend then to her father who seemed to be contemplating whether to agree or not.

"Hinata will finish her jyuuken training at six. You may come by then," Hiashi finally answered after a pregnant pause.

"I will be here at six-thirty to give Hinata-chan some time to prepare," Sasuke answered him then turned to his girlfriend. "Hina-chan, I'll pick you up at six-thirty." He said then pecked her cheek. Hinata blushed at the contact but nodded nonetheless. "Come on Natsu-imouto," Sasuke offered his hand to his younger sister.

"Bye Hiashi-jii, Hinata-neechan," the rambunctious blonde waved as the pair walked away.

"We should start on your training, Hinata," Hiashi said.

"Hai!" Hinata replied.

"Real smooth aniki," Natsu teased.

"What was I supposed to do after you pushed me?" Sasuke asked, whirling around to face his younger sister. "You did that on purpose."

"What are you gonna do about it?" Natsu asked teasingly.

"Nothing," Sasuke replied. "I'm gonna leave you at Iruka-niisan's house for tonight."

"Iruka-nii is out on a mission."

"What about Yuugao-nee or Anko-nee?" Sasuke asked.

"Guard duty."

"That leaves Kaka-baka," Sasuke muttered angrily.

"What's wrong with Kashi-chan?"

"I could list a number of things," Sasuke continued to mumble.

"There's nothing wrong with him!" Natsu insisted.

"He's a pervert." Sasuke replied.

"How is he a pervert?"

"He likes you!" Sasuke screamed in frustration.

"So what? I like him too," Natsu replied. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"He's fourteen years older than you," Sasuke said. "Not to mention he reads _that_ stuff."

"I know that but it doesn't matter since I'm gonna be marrying him anyway," Natsu replied.

"How do you know about that?" Sasuke asked.

"I overheard Kashi and Jii-jii talking about it the other day," she replied.

"Are you okay with that?" Sasuke asked his younger sister.

"I am." Natsu replied truthfully. "Besides, it would either be him or some other man who could be more perverted than Kashi."

"Jii-chan would never allow that!"

"He wouldn't," Natsu conceded. "Not willingly but he won't have a choice. He's already stuck his neck out just to keep them from making me a breeding toy but when _they_ decide that it's time for me to bear children for their greedy purposes, Jii-jii won't be there to stop them." Sasuke could only sigh knowing she was right. They didn't know who the hokage's successor would be so it was difficult to dispute her claim.

"We're here," Sasuke said. He walked to the front door about to knock when Natsu caught his outstretched arm. She pointed to the bedroom which was on the side of the apartment.

"His bedroom window is always open," Natsu answered the unspoken question.

Natsu walked to the window and signalled to Sasuke. 'Stay here. I'll wake him up.' She said in the ANBU hand sign. He nodded in return.

Natsu crawled over to the notoriously late jounin. The silver-haired man lay on his bed, sleeping comfortably. He wore a blank tank top that showed his muscular body; with it he wore grey sweatpants and his ever-present mask. A mischievous grin adorned the nine-year-old's face as she watched her crush sleep. She was silent as she straddled the man's legs. She was quick to make the hand signs for the jutsu she invented. There was nothing to indicate a jutsu being used; no puff of smoke, no flare in her chakra.

"Kashi-kun," eighteen-year-old Natsu whispered seductively. Sasuke's eyes widened at his sister's plan yet he smirked at the ingenuity that she portrayed. "Kashi-kun," she leaned to whisper in Kakashi's ear. The man underneath her mumbled incoherently and Sasuke's smirk widened.

"Natsu?" a bleary onyx eye opened.

"Kashi-kun, wake up," she cooed, this time looking into his eyes. Cerulean met onyx and Kakashi smiled sleepily.

"Natsu is that really you?" he asked. His gaze roamed the girl's facade. She wore a skimpy top that accentuated her curves and revealed her navel paired with short shorts. He looked at the beautiful face presented to him; the ocean blue eyes and the plump lips looked luscious but what was most intriguing to him were the whisker marks on both cheeks. _'Whisker marks?' _he thought; his Sharingan eye flew open to reveal nine-year-old Natsu looking at him confusedly. He rose abruptly which left Natsu sitting on his lap looking at his chest.

"Kashi-kun, are you alright?" Natsu asked innocently, blue eyes clouding with shock and confusion. Kakashi missed the triumphant glint in her eyes.

"Uh... yeah... I'm fine but what are you doing here?"

"Aniki's got a date," Natsu replied as if it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Is that true Sasu-chan?" Kakashi addressed the snickering boy on his window sill.

"Stop calling me that." Sasuke replied; annoyed. "But yes, it's true. I do have a date."

"Okay, so you're letting Natsu stay with me for tonight?" Kakashi asked as he closed his Sharingan eye.

"I have no choice..." Sasuke trailed off.

"Kashi-kun, have you eaten yet?" Natsu asked and received a shake of the silver-haired man's head. "I'll go make dinner then," she conceded.

"How old is she again?" Kakashi asked Sasuke as soon as Natsu had closed the door to his room.

"She's nine and yes, she's just naturally mature."

"So you said, you have no choice but to let her stay with me," Kakashi went back to the previous topic.

"Iruka-nii's on a mission, Anko-nee and Yuugao-nee are on guard duty," Sasuke began. "Natsu obviously can't stay at the Hyuuga's since Neji's also out on a mission with his team and Hinata will be with me. Sarutobi-jii is too busy to take care of her which leaves you."

"Why do you hate me?" Kakashi asked.

"You're a twenty-three year old man who's in love with my nine-year old sister; why shouldn't I hate you?" Sasuke asked.

"It's not like I'm planning on doing anything to her. She's still too young."

"Her physical age may be young but her mental age would be around yours if not older," Sasuke replied. "Anyway, she already knows about your engagement. She told me she overheard you and the old man talking about it. Unfortunately for me, she said that she's not averse to marrying you."

"She said that?"

"Yes, and she also said that she likes you," Sasuke said sullenly.

"Did she really?"

"I already said that, didn't I?" Sasuke replied sarcasm dripping in his words. "Anyway, what were you dreaming about?" he asked with a smirk.

"I dreamt about Natsu in an older form," Kakashi replied.

"Which eventually led to that," Sasuke replied as he pointed at the older man's crotch. Kakashi's eye widened at the sight of the tent in his pants.

"I... uh..." he muttered incoherently.

"She may be mature but in actuality she's still a small girl. You shouldn't be lusting for her," Sasuke scolded.

"I can't be unaffected by my dreams of her," Kakashi began. "I've known she was to be my mate since she was born. In all my life I haven't had any kind of sexual encounters and it's really frustrating especially when you're a ninja as old as I am."

"Whatever you say Kakashi," Sasuke conceded. The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence marred only by the sounds of their breathing.

"So... you and Hinata-chan..." Kakashi began.

"Natsu's fault," Sasuke replied.

"What did she do this time?"

"She bumped into me," Sasuke said. "I tried to break my fall by grabbing onto Hina-chan's arm but she lost her balance as well. We both ended up on the ground with Hinata on top of me."

"Little matchmaker is what Natsu is." Kakashi replied.

"Isn't she the reason why Anko-nee and Iruka-nii are together?"

"Yes and she also got Yuugao with Hayate."

"How did she do that?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, for Anko and Iruka it was really simple. She needed protection for about a week or two-" Sasuke cut him off.

"I thought you've been protecting her since she was two?" he asked in confusion.

"I have but I missed her third birthday because of a mission so she naturally got angry," Kakashi answered. "Anyway, she asked for them specifically by their masks. She told Lord Hokage that she's seen them save her once or twice and she'd rather have them tail her than me. As you said, she's mature for her age but really she was just a child. They became her pseudo parents; taking care of her when she had bad dreams and protecting her from the villagers. Anko learned to appreciate Iruka's presence and Iruka soon understood why Anko acted the way she did. They hung out more even after their mission with Natsu until Iruka finally asked her out. They've been together since then."

"What about Yuugao-nee and Hayate-san?" Sasuke asked.

"That's a longer story."

"One that if told would make you late for your date tonight," a smaller voice said from the doorway. "I'll tell you about it some other time." Natsu said. She stood at the doorway, her arms crossed across her chest and wearing an apron with a ladle in her hand.

"What time is it?"

"It's a quarter past six," Natsu replied. Sasuke stood up from the bed in shock.

"I'm going to be late!" he panicked. Natsu walked to him and his head snapped to the side with the force of her slap.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Natsu said firmly. "Go home, take a shower and get dressed. Your clothes are already on your bed. Remember that Hinata-chan likes lilies and cinnamon buns." Sasuke could only nod dumbly, his hand stroking his sore cheek. "Go on, get!" Natsu ordered. Her brother turned and left via shunshin.

"Since when can he do shunshin?" Kakashi stared at the spot where Sasuke disappeared from.

"Anko-nee and Yuugao-nee taught us when we were seven, I think," Natsu replied thoughtfully. "Well, he and Hinata-chan were seven, I was six."

"You can do it too?" Kakashi asked in genuine shock.

"I think I already said that." Natsu said. "Anyway, dinner will be ready in a few minutes. You should take a shower; you stink Kashi-kun." She told him, dramatically plugging her nose. She received a glare in response. "The table will be ready when you get out." She said with a laugh.

"You sound like an actual wife and mother," Kakashi told her.

"Those are only some of the things I want to be when I'm older."

"Sasuke told me you know about our engagement," Kakashi began.

"I heard everything; from your family's history to my father's last words to you." She said.

"You don't disagree with us? Do you really want to be with me for the rest of our lives?" Kakashi asked. Natsu stepped closer to the older man. She kissed the corner of the man's cloth-covered lips and stroked his cheek.

"I'm nine Kashi," she replied. "But even so, I know that there is no one else for me but you. I'm yours as are you mine." Kakashi kissed her forehead as relief flooded through him.

Sasuke arrived at the apartment that he and Natsu shared. He walked into his room and stared at the pair of clothes his younger sister had prepared for him. On his bed lay a dark blue yukata with a black and red striped obi. Beside it was a note and a velvet box. He picked the red box up and his eyes widened at the object within its silken folds.

_Sasu-nii,_

_Itachi-nii told me to keep this safe. He told me to give it to you when you finally ask Hinata-chan out. I think you know what this is for. I'm giving it to you for safekeeping. _

_I got the yukata made especially for you. I hope you like it._

_Uzumaki Natsumi Suki _

Sasuke's eyes landed on the Uchiha crest in his hands. It was in the form of a necklace; the white gold chain glittering in the dim light of his room, the white and red fan of the Uchiha lay snugly on the silk.

'_Aniki, you always did think of me.'_ He thought. He dressed quietly, his gaze falling to the blue velvet box on his bed. _'I think I'll bring it with me for good luck.'_ He left the apartment with five minutes to spare; he shunshined to the Hyuuga manor.

"I am here to pick up Lady Hinata," Sasuke told the guards. They simply nodded and opened the gate to let him pass through. Another Hyuuga was waiting for him.

"Lord Hyuuga has asked me to bring you to his office once you arrive," the white-eyed man told Sasuke as he led him through corridors of the manor. Sasuke merely replied with a nod. The man stopped in front of a pair of sliding doors and knocked.

"Come in," came the muffled reply. The man stepped aside and let Sasuke in the room. "Thank you Hanatarou," Hiashi said. "Call Hinata and have her come to my office." The man bowed and left.

"Good evening Hiashi-dono," Sasuke greeted respectfully.

"Good evening Sasuke," the man replied just as politely. "Now you must be wondering why I asked for you," Hiashi received a slight nod. "I just wanted to lay some ground rules." A knock upon the door interrupted him; it slid open to reveal Hinata. She wore a lavender kimono that accentuated her eyes and her hair flowed down her back. She had a slight blush on her face and it made her look even more beautiful in Sasuke's eyes.

"Good evening father, Sasuke-kun," she greeted both 'men'.

"Good evening Hinata," Hiashi greeted his eldest daughter. "As I was telling Sasuke, I just wanted to lay some ground rules. "You are to be home by nine on the dot, there will be no touching unless it's to hold hands and no inappropriate behaviour." He said.

"Of course, Hiashi-dono," Sasuke replied.

"Well then," the older man conceded. "You may go. Have a nice evening!" he said as the pair left.


	3. Chapter 2

Kakashi woke up with a small weight upon his chest. A bleary dark eye opened to a mop of blonde hair. He smiled softly at the small girl who was his fiancée. His arms tightened around her and he sighed at the memory of their conversation the night before.

"_I'm yours Kakashi, just as you are mine," _the memory of her words brought a bright smile to his uncovered lips. Somehow, Natsu had gotten him to take his mask off.

"It's too early for you to be thinking so hard Kashi-kun," Natsu whispered against his chest. His lone eye widened a fraction before he answered.

"How long have you been awake?"

"Don't know," she whispered.

"Go back to sleep," he said but she had already drifted off. He was comfortable and he didn't want to get up but he did need to do some missions.

Hinata woke up smiling brightly at the memories of the past night. They had gone to a simple restaurant near the edge of the village where they had dinner. They then went to the Hokage monument where they sat watching the stars until it came time for them to go home; they shunshined right outside the Hyuuga manor with five minutes to spare.

"_Good night, Hina-chan," _Sasuke had whispered then kissed her on the cheek before disappearing in a flurry of leaves. She smiled once more at the memories then decided to finally train.

Sasuke was already training when Kakashi found him. The boy was smiling softly as he went through his katas. He had an aura of happiness to him and he seemed to bask in the joy he was feeling.

"Yo!" Kakashi greeted him with his customary two-fingered wave.

"Good morning!" the boy returned the greeting a little too cheerfully than what Kakashi was used to. He stared blankly at the boy who didn't seem to care what he thought about Sasuke at the moment.

"How was the date?" Kakashi asked conversationally once he shook himself out of his stupor.

"It went great," Sasuke answered not stopping his exercise. "I'm really happy Natsu did what she did to finally get me to ask Hina-chan out."

"That didn't seem to be the case last night when you were grumbling about it," Kakashi teased.

"Speaking of Natsu, where is she?" Sasuke changed the subject with a light pink dusting his cheeks.

"She's still asleep," the silver haired man answered then seemed to ponder his words. "At least she was when I left her."

"You shouldn't have left," the dark-haired boy stopped to look at the man in front of him. "You know she hates waking up alone."

"I know," the older ninja replied. "Which is why I came to get you; I have a mission in a few hours but I need to report to Lord Hokage before I leave."

"Alright, I'll go to her. I'll just need to shower."

"Thanks Sasuke."

"No problem," Sasuke replied as Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The sun was already high up in the sky when Natsu woke up once more. Blinking crystal blue eyes, she looked around the room to find her older brother sleeping peacefully beside her; his right arm was slung haphazardly across her waist, his breathing even.

"Good morning Natsu-chan," a gentle voice said from the doorway. The blonde haired child turned her gaze to the doorway. There stood Hinata, Her long dark hair pulled into a bun. She had a ladle in one hand, her other covered her face as she tried to hide her blush.

"Good morning Hinata-nee," Natsu greeted, discreetly making handsigns. With a poof of smoke, she was standing by the door. In her place on the bed was Hinata. Sasuke chose that moment to snuggle closer to the girl and Hinata made a very good impression of a strawberry in her face.

"Good luck getting out of his grip!" Natsu taunted as she bounced into the kitchen where she helped herself with the breakfast that Hinata had prepared.

Back in the room, Hinata had begun hyperventilating. She was so close to Sasuke, scratch that, she was lying next to the boy she likes. 'I'm lying on the bed next to Sasuke-kun and he's sleeping!' she panicked.

"Hina-hime," Sasuke mumbled sleepily, tightening his arms around the unsuspecting girl. Hinata then did something she hadn't done in so long, she fainted her cheeks flaring. Sasuke chose that moment to open his eyes. He had been awake the whole time and was happy that Natsu decided to replace herself with Hinata. He was pretty sure that his younger sister didn't know that he was awake but then again, she would.

"You know Sasu-nii, you shouldn't have made her faint," Natsu said, leaning against the doorway as she bit into an onigiri.

"You knew I was awake?"

"Of course," Natsu replied.

"How?"

"It doesn't matter, does it?" she said. "At least now, you're with Hina-chan on a bed. Wonder what Hiashi-jii will think if he saw you now?" she mocked to which her brother responded with a glare. "You always seem to forget I'm immune to those glares, nii-san. Now, why don't you get out of bed and then get something to eat so we can start training?"

"I already did."

"I know but I need a sparring partner so I need you to wake Hina-chan up," the petite blonde replied.

"Fine," The dark-haired boy agreed reluctantly. "Hime, wake up." He nudged his girlfriend gently.

"Mmm... Sasu-kun," she mumbled sleepily as she snuggled closer to his chest. Sasuke felt his cheeks heat up as Natsu snickered by the door.

"Hina-chan," he continued to wake her up. "It's time to wake up." He tried again, but she seemed content in his arms so Natsu stepped in.

"Hinata Hyuuga! Wake up or I swear to Kami you will not be able to look Sasu-nii in the eye without blushing!" she screamed at the pair. Hinata bolted up, her blood seeming to have rushed into her face all at once.

"Natsumi!" she shouted at the laughing girl. "You're gonna get it now!" the shy Hyuuga heiress was gone, in her place was an enraged kunoichi hell-bent on getting revenge on the girl who she thought was her younger sister.

"I know, that's what I've been waiting for," the blonde smirked at the dark-haired heiress.

"Let's go then," Hinata said and the two disappeared in their respective shunshins. Sasuke was left staring at the spots where his girls had been but a few moments ago. Confused at what had transpired, he shrugged and went to the kitchen to pack food for his two kunoichi.

"Yield?" Hinata asked, her kunai glinting against Natsu's tan skin. She had the petite girl pinned to the ground.

"Nope," the blonde replied as she disappeared in a puff of smoke. It was noon, and the two girls had been at it since nine that morning and they hadn't stopped for a break since they begun. Sasuke had been watching them fight and was proud of the progress they both portrayed.

"Lunch time!" he shouted just as Natsu appeared at the edge of the clearing to help Hinata up from her position in the middle of the training ground.

The two girls walked towards Sasuke and plopped down beside him in exhaustion.

"What's for lunch?" Natsu asked her older brother.

"No ramen today," he replied as he smirked at the blonde. She pouted at the response but took a sandwich nonetheless. She ate hungrily even as she grumbled about ramen being 'food for the gods'.

"How was your training this morning, Sasuke-kun?" asked Hinata as she bit into a sandwich of her own.

"I didn't really do anything," he answered. "I practiced my katas before Kakashi came to tell me he had a mission."

"Hmmm," Hinata's reply was non-committal.

"Then can you explain why you ended up in bed with Hinata-chan?" Natsu asked. Hinata blushed in embarrassment and Sasuke smirked at his sister's words.

"You do realize how you make it sound like, right?" he asked.

"Of course," Natsu replied. "I'm just saying it how it is. You did sleep together even if you were technically awake."

"Sasuke-kun, you were awake?" Hinata asked, eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Eh, heh-heh," the onyx-eyed boy started. "You see, um, I was," he continued incoherently. His mind conjured up no responses so he settled for a glare at the snickering blonde. Hinata's retort was stopped however by an ANBU.

"Uchiha-sama, Hyuuga-sama, the Hokage has requested your presence in his office." The three children looked at each other in worry. Jii-chan never called them together to his office if it wasn't important. They ignored the blatant disregard to the blonde and shunshined to the Hokage's office, leaving the eagle-masked ANBU to stare at the spot they disappeared from. Even the picnic basket and blanket were gone and he didn't even see them move or make any hand signs.

"What's wrong jii-chan?" Natsu and Sasuke asked as soon as they popped into the office. "Is everything alright?" they continued simultaneously.

"Everything is fine," the aged leader placated. Natsu narrowed clear blue eyes at the old man but let him continue. "I called you here because something came up."

"Okay, what is it?" Sasuke asked impatiently. _'Why can't jii-chan just tell us what's going on? He doesn't need to beat around the bush.'_

"As I'm sure you all know, I sent Kakashi to a mission," Sarutobi began. "His mission was to Suna. The details are unimportant as he had successfully completed his initial mission. He did however, have an unexpected meeting on his way home. About four miles out of the desert, he found three children making their way through the dense forest. There was one girl and two boys." He trailed off knowing the three had understood.

"Where are they? What happened to them? Are they alright?" Natsu asked all in one breath.

"As of now, they are resting," Sarutobi answered. "But they were in really bad condition when Kakashi had picked them up. Had he not found them, they would've died." He said truthfully, knowing the three children in front of him would never forgive him if he lied to them.

"I want to see them," Natsu's tone brooked no argument and the Hokage simply nodded before ushering them out the door, following closely behind. They walked in tense silence towards the hospital, each buried in their thoughts of the other three children who were currently resting in a private ward guarded by Kakashi himself.

"Gaara-kun!" Natsu launched herself at the redhead who had apparently been awake the whole time. Teal eyes shone with happiness as he caught the blonde blur in his arms, embracing her tightly in fear of losing her. "What happened?" sky blue eyes implored for the answer and when teal orbs flickered away from her own gaze, she knew.

Kakashi's fists clenched as he watched the scene. He was jealous of the tenderness his fiancée was showing the redheaded boy. He bit back a growl as she caressed his cheek and whispered something that made the boy smile softly before finally falling asleep.

"What happened to them, Natsu?" Sasuke asked his sister as he lovingly kissed another blonde girl's forehead.

"I will kill him," Natsu growled as she rose from Gaara's bed. "I promise I will kill him!" she said and Sasuke understood.

"Sasuke, what's going on?" Sarutobi finally spoke up. The tension had risen ever since Natsu ran straight into Gaara's arms but now it was almost suffocating as even Hinata was leaking her killer intent.

"Do you remember that mission aniki brought us on?" Sasuke answered their leader with another question.

"Of course, how can I forget?" Sarutobi replied. "You and Natsu were gone by dawn and no one could find you. You three gave me such a headache back then."

"What are you talking about Lord Sarutobi?" Kakashi asked in confusion.

"When Sasuke was four and Natsu was three Itachi took both of them to Suna without telling anyone," the hokage answered, sighing at the memory of the uproar it caused due to the 'demon brat' and the youngest Uchiha missing. "It was the time when Iruka and Anko replaced you to be Natsu's guardian because you weren't there for Natsu's third birthday."

"Ita-nii spoke to Iruka-niisan and Anko-neechan about it," Natsu spoke. "Haven't you ever wondered why even though the whole village was in uproar about my disappearance, those two weren't even worried?"

"Hmm... I was wondering why they were so calm during those days," Sarutobi replied. "Anyway, as I was saying, Itachi took them on one of his missions to Suna where they met the Sand siblings. Gaara is a jinchuuriki just like Natsu and Temari is his twin. Kankuro is the oldest of them and the protector. When Gaara and Temari were still in the womb, their father, the Third Kazekage sealed Shukaku the Sand spirit inside of them. We still don't know how it happened that Temari was almost unaffected by it but we theorized that Gaara was the one nearest to the surface when the sealing was done and so he got the full brunt of the spirit. It did, however, influence the color of Temari's hair."

"Everything is just guesswork as of now," Sasuke answered. "Gaara and Temari are just my age but due to the Shukaku, they act childishly. Kankuro, on the other hand, is Neji's age, give or take a few years." He then turned towards his girlfriend.

"Hina-hime," he began. "I know you were jealous of my affections toward Temari but you have to understand that to me she is family just like Natsu is. I know how it must have looked like but I need you to trust me on this. I don't love Mari-chan the way I do you."

"Y-you l-love m-me?" the dark haired girl blushed and stuttered all at once.

"Yes, I do." Sasuke answered, a light pink dusting his cheeks. Their moment ended when Natsu spoke.

"You know Kashi-kun," the blonde's voice showed her amusement at the whole situation. "Green is not your color."

"What are you talking about?" the silver haired ninja asked.

"I saw the way you were looking at Gaara when I hugged him," she said. "You had your 'don't-touch-what's-mine-or-I'll-kill-you' look."

"No, I didn't," his adamant refusal was a lie and all of them knew it.

"Su-chan?" a voice, raspy from disuse prevented the oncoming argument from happening.

"Kuro-kun?" the petite blonde turned to the brunette who was currently trying to sit up. She gently pushed on his shoulders and told him in a no non-sense tone, "Don't get up. You need your strength."

"Did we make it? Are we finally out of that hellhole?" he asked as he relented, allowing her to lay him down properly.

"Yes Kuro-kun, you're all safe now," she replied. "Go back to sleep." She began her handsigns for a sleep jutsu but Kankuro stopped her by holding her hands together.

"Wait. What about Gaara-chan and Temari-chan?" he asked. "Where are they?"

"They're here," Natsu told him. "They're resting, getting their strength back, so should you. Now, sleep okay? I promise we'll take care of things from here."

"Okay," he said. "See you when I wake up?"

"I promise," she kissed his forehead as brown eyes fluttered close. The unmistakable crunch of shinobi gloves echoed around the awfully silent room then Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Natsu sighed deeply. "I'll go get him."

"Do you realize how dangerous he is when he's like this?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, but how would I be a good wife if I didn't know how to keep my husband in line?" she smiled cheekily then disappeared in a flurry of leaves. She appeared near the memorial stone located next to training ground three. As she expected, Kakashi was there; his head hung in silent prayer to his lost comrades.


	4. Chapter 3

"Did we make it? Are we finally out of that hellhole?" he asked as he relented, allowing her to lay him down properly.

"Yes Kuro-kun, you're all safe now," she replied. "Go back to sleep." She began her handsigns for a sleep jutsu but Kankuro stopped her by holding her hands together.

"Wait. What about Gaara-chan and Temari-chan?" he asked. "Where are they?"

"They're here," Natsu told him. "They're resting, getting their strength back, so should you. Now, sleep okay? I promise we'll take care of things from here."

"Okay," he said. "See you when I wake up?"

"I promise," she kissed his forehead as brown eyes fluttered close. The unmistakable crunch of shinobi gloves echoed around the awfully silent room then Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Natsu sighed deeply. "I'll go get him."

"Do you realize how dangerous he is when he's like this?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, but how would I be a good wife if I didn't know how to keep my husband in line?" she smiled cheekily then disappeared in a flurry of leaves. She appeared near the memorial stone located next to training ground three. As she expected, Kakashi was there; his head hung in silent prayer to his lost comrades.

* * *

"What should I do Rin-chan?" Kakashi whispered. "I love her. I've loved her even when she was only a baby and yet, seeing her happy in another's arms... I-I'm torn between envy and anger. I don't know what to do. Please, tell me what to do," the twenty-three year old shinobi begged, never noticing his fiancée's presence nor the fact that he was crying.

"I think you should start listening to explanations before you start running off," the blonde finally spoke. Kakashi whirled round, a kunai already in his hand ready to impale the speaker. His fist clenched around the kunai as he caught sight of his girl.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Sasuke and the others?" he asked his voice icy with jealousy.

"What about you?" she retorted. "Shouldn't you be there as well? After all, you haven't given your report to jii-jii and you didn't explain how you found them."

"Of course, you would only care about Gaara-kun and Kuro-kun, wouldn't you?" he sneered as Natsu sucked in a breath.

"You know Kakashi, you should've listened to what Sasu-nii was telling Hinata-chan. But then again, you were too jealous to even hear another word after I greeted Gaara-kun the way I did." She sighed.

"Then why are you still here? Go to him then," he snapped. "If you came here to rub it in my face that you can have anyone you want then fine, I get the message!" his voice rose as he failed to control his anger.

"Kami-sama help me!" the nine-year old muttered in frustration. "Kakashi I'm only nine. As of now, I shouldn't even be thinking about getting married and yet, if I remember correctly I already promised myself to you." She said softly and noted with satisfaction as Kakashi froze. "Gaara-kun means as much to me as Sasuke does. And since you didn't hear, or rather didn't listen to what he said before, let me tell you again. Gaara has reverted to his childish self due to Shukaku being sealed in him. And even though Temari didn't receive the same influence as he did, she as well became as a child."

"But why?" Kakashi asked. "They shouldn't have any reason to be childish."

"It's because of their father," she continued. "When he realized that he couldn't bend the twins to his will, he tried having them killed. When they turned two, they had already had some of the worst experiences of their lives. They came close to dying more times than I can count even before they turned five. Their childishness is a defence mechanism."

"How old were they when you first met?"

"They were four but Kankuro was around seven or eight and so he remembered everything that happened to his younger siblings. Even though I was only three, I understood better than you would think. After all, I had the same experiences." She whispered.

"I'm sorry Natsu," Kakashi said as he took her into his arms. "I jumped to conclusions and let my assumptions get the better of me."

"I know, but it's one of the things I like about you," she replied. "Your ever-possessive nature," She continued. "We should be getting back," she told him.

"Alright."

"Are you calm enough Kakashi?" the aged leader asked his subordinate.

"Hai Hokage-sama," the infamous Sharingan no Kakashi bowed his head in shame. "Gomenasai, my behaviour was inappropriate and unprofessional."

"Very well, just make sure it doesn't happen again," their leader said sternly. "Now, on to business; what shall we do about the siblings?"

"I'd like to take them in sir," Kakashi answered after a moment of hesitation.

*After their moment at the memorial stone, he had brought Natsu back to the room where the trio were still resting. They had found Sasuke and Hinata huddled in one corner while Sarutobi was nowhere to be seen.

"Sasu-nii, where did jii-chan go?" Natsu asked her older brother.

"He said he would call all the jounin to see what he should do about Gaara-chan, Mari-chan and Kankuro-kun."

"I better go then," Kakashi said, dropping a kiss atop his beloved's golden locks. On his way to the tower, he thought about everything Natsu had told him about the siblings and he made a decision. When he arrived just as the meeting was about to begin, all the other jounins looked at him strangely. He was notoriously late and yet here he was, ambling along without a care in the world. And then, when the agenda for the meeting was uncovered, everyone did a double take as Kakashi presented his idea for the three children.*

"Why would you want to do that?" Sarutobi asked his strongest jounin. He knew about Kakashi's aversion to children and yet here he was volunteering to take all three of the Sabaku siblings in.

"I have been told about their living conditions prior to when I found them," Kakashi began but was interrupted by a random jounin in the crowd.

"Who would have told you about them? They are foreign children, so no one should have known them personally and yet here you are saying that you know someone who told you about them personally?" the accusation was clear in the ninja's tone.

"I'm afraid, that's classified," it was Sarutobi who answered. "Our informant has asked not to be revealed but know that they have my utmost trust."

"Lord Hokage, shouldn't the council know about this?" another ninja decided to put his two cents in. Sarutobi narrowed his eyes at the ninja who spoke. He was Takaaki Tobiume, one of the council's cronies.

"Do you question my authority Tobiume-san?" the age was gone in the old man's voice. The jounins flinched, they were now facing the Kami no Shinobi.

"N-not at all Hokage-sama," Tobiume stuttered his reply. "I-I just thought the council should know about this since it does concern the well-being of the village."

"You have a point Tobiume-san," the Hokage conceded. "But, you should know that this was never about the sand siblings. Ibiki, Anko!"

"Hokage-sama?" the two Torture and Investigation ninja appeared in front of the leader.

"I want you to take Tobiume-san and Nakaragi-san to the T&I department," he told the two jounins. "I want to know what else they have been telling the council."

The two jounins who spoke up tried to run but were quickly engaged by the other ninjas. Overwhelmed by their numbers, the two were quickly caught and brought to the Interrogation building.

"Now that that has been taken care of, I would like to go back to what we were speaking of." Sarutobi said. "This meeting should not be held with my jounin but I did want to know what you thought of them. As jounins, you have been told about the status of one Natsu Uzumaki and although I know that not all of you believe she is a child, she is one."

"What does Natsu-chan have anything to do with this?" Iruka asked their leader.

"She knows the siblings personally and the redhead is a jinchuuriki as is she," he explained. "Now, I must ask you; do you think we should keep them here or bring them back to Suna?"

"We should keep them," a female jounin said. She had dark hair, red eyes and wore a red dress, with her left arm wrapped in bandages.

"Do you think so, Kurenai?"

"Hai Hokage-sama," the woman now known as Kurenai replied. "They would prove beneficial not only to the village but to Natsu-san as well. I have seen what she goes through every day and I know that she needs to have other friends."

"Very well; does everyone else feel the same?" murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd of ninjas. "You're all dismissed, except for you Kakashi."

As the room was cleared of the jounins, Kakashi wondered what his leader wanted him to do.

"Kakashi, are you sure you want to take them in?" Sarutobi's voice broke Kakashi from his musings.

"Yes, I do."

"Then I must ask you to reclaim the seat that your father has vacated all those years ago," Sarutobi answered.

"I'd do anything for Natsu," he pledged.

"Alright, now I need you to get the other members of the ninja council. I think it's about time I reclaim my position as the leader of this village." Kakashi smirked at his words as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Murmurs rippled through the council room as Kakashi Hatake entered with Anko, Ibiki and Iruka in tow; the elders' eyes widened in surprise at the sight of four of the best ninjas in the village. Sarutobi entered with an aura of deadly grace and righteous anger rolling off him in waves. The ninjas in the room flinched at the deathly silent man who walked into the room regally.

"Sarutobi, what is the meaning of this?" Danzo spoke up deciding it was time the council knew what this farce of a meeting was about.

"That's Lord Hokage to you, Danzo!" the old man snapped at his rival. Kakashi stifled a snicker at the expression on Danzo's face.

"Why did you call us here Sarutobi?" this time it was Koharu who decided to intervene.

"As I said, you are to address me as Lord Hokage," he glared at his former teammate. "Is that understood Koharu-san?" his question was rhetorical but his attitude left many people on the council shocked and fearing for their lives.

"This meeting was called due to a number of things that came to my attention," the Kami no shinobi began. "I shall start with you Danzo. I believe I told you to shut down your root operations and yet I see some of your men in the very room I am in."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Hokage-sama," Danzo replied with the slightest widening of eyes.

"Then you wouldn't mind explaining this?" Sarutobi asked as three peculiarly masked ANBU appeared in the center of the room hauling twelve ninja with the root insignia tattooed on their arms. Danzo paled considerably at the sight of his top twelve soldiers in the hands of three of Sarutobi's.

Kakashi's eyes widened at the appearance of the trio. He recognized them by their masks; they were the Oni-Tenshi-Raven or the Reapers as the ninja population called them. According to his knowledge, they were the protectors. The demon wore a black mask with one white stripe on the right side, a full-body suit that accentuated her curves topped by a mesh shirt and a chest plate. She also wore arm plates and her weapon of choice was a large sword that was strapped to her back. The angel wore a white mask with one black stripe on the left side of the porcelain, standard ANBU armor and had two katanas strapped to form an X on her back. The raven was obviously male, he wore a standard ANBU uniform as well but his mask was red with a white stripe on the right side and a black one on the left. They were quite the imposing trio but Kakashi couldn't help but feel as if he knew them.

Danzo decided to cut his losses and decided to run. He knew he would be executed if he were caught; the evidence was right here in front of the whole council's eyes. He tried to leave while the room was frozen at the sight of the Reapers but he found that he was stuck inside a barrier of sorts.

"Let me go Sarutobi! I had nothing to do with this!" the crippled old man hissed at the aged leader.

"Danzo, by order of the Hokage, you are hereby charged with treason. The punishment is execution." Three voices spoke up. The harmonious melody of the Reapers voices were strangely hypnotic and the whole room could only watch as the three shinobis killed the old warmonger.

"Now that that's settled," Sarutobi spoke once more. "I would like to turn my attention to the civilian council."

"What is it you need of us Hokage-sama?" a pink-haired woman wearing a formal kimono asked.

"I would like to know who ordered my ninjas to kill one civilian child."

"We did no such thing!" Yakiko Haruno screeched.

"I have here a written order to two of my jounins to attack and if possible kill one Natsu Uzumaki."

"The demon brat deserves to die! She should be killed for all of the people Kyuubi killed when it attacked!" the whole civilian council erupted at once. The focused killer intent of Kakashi, Sarutobi, Anko, Iruka, Ibiki and Hiashi Hyuuga made them quiet down.

"Natsu Uzumaki is no demon!" Kakashi finally spoke up. "She is the jailor to the Kyuubi no Kitsune. She has done this village no wrong and yet she is ostracized. She's only nine and she's had almost the same amount of near-death experiences as I have and she's not even a ninja yet!"

"Why are you here, Hatake?" Koharu asked the silver haired nin. "This is a council meeting, as such you and your friends have no right to be here."

"I am part of the council. I have recently taken the seat vacated by my father Sakumo Hatake as well as represent Sasuke Uchiha in the absence of Danzo." Hiashi couldn't hide the smirk that followed due to Kakashi's words.

"Impossible!" Koharu exclaimed. She turned to Homura but found no acknowledgement of her statement whatsoever.

"Koharu-san, I suggest you control yourself..." Sarutobi left the threat hanging.

"Is that a threat Sarutobi?" Koharu whirled round to his former teammate.

"I am merely stating a fact Koharu," the aged leader replied. "This is a formal meeting and as such, if you cannot keep your emotions in control I shall have you removed from this room as well as your position as an elder."

"You dare threaten your own advisor?"

"I dare threaten one who has committed treason!" the Kami no Shinobi finally exploded.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the old advisor denied all accusations. "What is the real meaning of this meeting Sarutobi?"

"I am merely doing what I should've done years ago." The old man replied calmly. "I've let this council run rampant for the past decade and I shall rectify my mistake today. As of this moment, the civilian council is disbanded. New councilmen shall be elected by the ninja council according to what the shinobis think would be best for the village. All the current members of the civilian council cannot be re-elected."

"You cannot do this Hokage-sama!" Haruno screeched.

"You dare question my authority Haruno-san? Need I remind you that you are not the leader here? I am the Hokage and what I say goes! Oni-Tenshi-Raven clear the room of every civilian including Koharu and Homura."

The council room erupted in chaos as various people tried to talk Sarutobi out of his decision while others escaped quietly. Some people sat in their seats, completely confused as to what had just transpired.

"Forbidden Demon Art: Sacrificial Lamb," one voice floated above all. The atmosphere froze as the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. The shinobi in the room stared in shocked silence as the Oni Reaper literally glowed. She was surrounded with a blinding white light and its shadows crept upon the members of the civilian council as well as the two aged advisors.

Kakashi stared at the glowing shinobi and couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. Then her intentions became clear as the council room descended into silence and then the light was gone.


	5. Chapter 4

"Forbidden Demon Art: Sacrificial Lamb," one voice floated above all. The atmosphere froze as the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. The shinobi in the room stared in shocked silence as the Oni Reaper literally glowed. She was surrounded with a blinding white light and its shadows crept upon the members of the civilian council as well as the two aged advisors.

Kakashi stared at the glowing shinobi and couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. Then her intentions became clear as the council room descended into silence and then the light was gone.

* * *

"_What jutsu was that?" _ was the thought in everyone's mind as the council room was suddenly cleared of the majority of the people.

"I trust everyone has been dealt with, Oni?" Sarutobi turned his attention to the reapers, more specifically the black-masked one.

"Hai hokage-sama, the perpetrators have been sent to the Torture and Interrogation building while the few innocent members were sent home."

"If I may ask hokage-sama, what happened to the civilian council as well as the elders?" the only female clan leader asked. Her canine features showed that she hailed from the Inuzuka clan.

"As you all heard, Oni said it was the Sacrificial Lamb jutsu. It opens the minds of the people it is used on to the one who used the jutsu. Basically, Oni was able to see everything in the whole council's mind be it ten years in the past or merely seconds before the jutsu was activated." The hokage replied. "It is forbidden because it takes a massive amount of chakra as well as a recently died corpse. Under my orders, Oni has separated those who were innocent from those who worked for the council for their own purposes."

"Shall we get back to the real agenda for this meeting?" Hiashi Hyuuga spoke up.

"Very well," Sarutobi said. "I called this meeting today to speak about three up and coming ninjas. These ninjas were found by one Kakashi Hatake on his way home from Suna."

"Where are these ninjas Hokage-sama and why haven't we been informed until now?" a platinum blonde spoke. Inoichi Yamanaka, the Yamanaka clan head asked.

"They are currently in the hospital resting," Sarutobi said. "Kakashi has only returned two hours ago and has had to report to me about his mission. The reason why this meeting has been delayed is because of the identities of the three children. They are the Kazekage's."

"We cannot keep them here Hokage-sama," Shikaku Nara said. "We would be declaring war against Suna as it would be in violation of the Non-Violence treaty we have with them."

"That is true, but they have violated it first by sealing Shukaku the Sand Spirit into his offspring. The two younger ones have massive amount of chakra due to the sealing and one has already demonstrated control over sand."

"It still wouldn't be advisable to harbour them here Hokage-sama," Shikaku once more said.

"Let me handle the politics," the aged leader said dismissively. "I called this meeting to ask your opinion on what to do with them. I already have two clans who has volunteered to take them in and I wanted to ask the other clans if this would be alright with them."

"May we see them first Hokage-sama?" Chouza Akimichi asked.

"Hai!" Hiruzen Sarutobi replied. He then nodded to the ANBU hidden in the walls to retrieve the children.

A few minutes later, three ANBU popped back into the council room with bundles in their arms. A sudden burst of chakra blew them away and the Reapers were quick to jump into action. Oni and Raven caught the two ANBU holding the twins while Tenshi managed to snag the third just before he slammed into the wall. All three elite shinobi were knocked unconscious by the blast while the rest of the shinobi were on edge due to the sheer amount of chakra being emitted by the children. Tenshi held a brown-haired child in her arms as they watched Oni and Raven try to calm the other two children.

"Mari-chan," Raven called out to the blonde child. "You know, you're making too much noise. It's too loud, Mari-chan." he said.

"Ven-kun?"

"Hai, it's me Mari-chan," the lone male Reaper replied. "Do you think you could keep it down just a little bit? It's too loud and it's bothering the other people here."

"I can't..." the blonde-haired girl groaned as if in pain. "It's too hard and it hurts Ven-kun." She said.

"I know it does Mari-chan," Raven said. "I know it's difficult but could you at least try to do it, for me?" he coaxed.

"I can't..."

"Yes you can," he said. "Remember that one time when Oni-chan and I were at your house? Remember what you did to make him shut up? That's all you have to do this time and then we can train so that you won't have to listen to the fur ball again."

"You promise?"

"I promise but now, you'll have to make him shut up on your own before we can help you."

"Okay," she nodded, determination shining in teal orbs. "Then we can train right?" she said just as the chakra was slowly siphoned back into her body.

"Then we can train." The dark-haired shinobi said decisively.

"Okay," she said just as she collapsed. Raven caught her in his arms, cradling her as she drifted to sleep.

"You got Temari, Raven?" Oni's voice reached his ears even through the amount of force leaving the other child's body.

"Hai, your turn," he said teasingly.

"You always leave me with the unruly one." She muttered but he still heard anyway.

"That's because you understand each other," Raven said as he moved to stand next to Tenshi whose charge was already awake.

The clan heads didn't know what to make of it. They had made a single request which was to see, or rather officially meet the Kazekage's children and they were met with a powerful blast of chakra. And to top it all off, the Reapers weren't even fazed while the whole ninja council sat on edge, ready to fight. They couldn't understand how these young ninja could not be bothered by the chakra of a bijuu and how they could make jokes about it either.

Kakashi knew these three. He knew them, he was sure of it. But, he couldn't recognize them by their voices due to their masks and it also blocked their faces. There was something about their body structure that was so familiar, especially, the Oni Reaper.

"Gaara-chan?" Oni turned her attention to the red-haired boy who was still leaking chakra. Teal eyes were unfocused even as she called his name. "It's Oni-chan." she called to him. "Ra-chan, can you hear me?"

"Oni-chan?" the boy asked as he struggled to regain control.

"Hai, it's me Ra-chan. Do you think you could tell him to go back to sleep?" she asked.

"I can't..." the redhead groaned. "He wants to come out."

"Well, tell him he can't."

"He says I should let him out so he can stop my suffering."

"Oh really? You don't believe him, do you?" she asked.

"No."

"That's good," she said. "Now, I want you to listen closely okay? I need you to push him back into his cage. Imagine him tied up in one corner of the bars."

"He's pushing me back."

"Think of him being pulled into one side with chains," she coached. "And then put a wall around him so that he can't break out. Then imagine putting silencing seals on the walls so you can't hear him."

"It's too hard." He moaned in pain, clutching his head as he fell onto his knees.

"You can do it Ra-chan," she cheered him on. "Here, let me help you." She said just as she began to send wave after wave of her chakra towards the boy. "You think you can do it now?"

"I can't..."

"What if I get Raven-kun and Tenshi-chan to help?"

"Who's Tenshi-chan?" the boy asked as two other chakra signatures joined his in pushing back the bijuu's.

"Oh, she's Raven-kun's girlfriend. You want to meet her don't you?" the Oni reaper asked as she began to step closer to the boy.

"Yes, I want to meet her," the redhead replied.

"Then you'll have to help us keep him back, alright?" Oni said. "You need to push him back and keep him locked up at least until I can do it for you."

"Okay." The boy collapsed as the bijuu's chakra retreated into his body but Oni was able to catch him in a display of pure speed. The council gaped in amazement at the girl.

Sarutobi smirked at the reaction of the ninja council. He knew it was nothing short of amazing, the way the three masked ninjas took control of the situation and he also knew that what had just happened only proved to raise more questions than answers.

"Oni-chan, what about you?" Gaara's soft voice was clear throughout the silenced room.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you have anyone?"

"Of course I do," Oni answered, smiling softly behind her mask.

"Will I meet them soon?"

"Sooner than you think," she replied.

"What's his name?"

"Inu." She said. A gasp could be heard and more than four pairs of eyes widened at her words. "I promise you'll meet him soon. For now, I want you to sleep."

"Okay, will I see you when I wake up?"

"You will, and that's a promise." She murmured softly, watching as teal eyes fluttered close.

"Natsu?" Kakashi's voice rang out. "It is you, isn't it?"

"Of course it's me," Natsu popped next to Kakashi with her bundle cradled protectively against her chest. "Unless you have another woman who's brave enough to call you her boyfriend."

"How?"

"Hokage's secret," Sarutobi answered.

"Hinata," Hiashi Hyuuga spoke to the Reaper with the white mask. "I trust your mission had gone well?"

"Hai otou-sama," Hinata said as she removed her mask, keeping her hold on Kankuro as she did so.

"I want your report on my desk tomorrow morning."

"Of course, father."

"You knew?" Kakashi turned accusing eyes to the Hyuuga clan head.

"Of course he did," this time, it was the Reaper with the red mask said as he removed his mask. "After all, she is the heiress to their clan."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Kakashi asked, his onyx eyes reflecting the hurt he was feeling at the moment. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"

"You should know that ANBU members do not reveal their identities to anyone but the Hokage and their fellow ANBU Sarutobi was cut off.

"I was an ANBU!" Kakashi's enraged shout was deafening throughout the quietened hall.

"Key word being _was_," Sarutobi glared at his supposedly best ninja. _"Some ninja, he could be brought to an emotional wreck by a nine-year old girl."_

"Who else knew about this?" Tsume Inuzuka asked. The dog woman was fierce and didn't take kindly to being kept from things like this.

"No one but Hiashi and me," Sarutobi answered.

"How is this possible?" Chouza Akimichi was the one to voice the question on most of the clan head's minds.

"They began training when they were three," Sarutobi began, sighing heavily at the story he was about to tell. "Hinata and Sasuke were three and Natsu was two. They had just met and Sasuke had saved Natsu from a mob that was chasing her it was then that Natsu realized she had to be able to protect not only herself but the ones she would become friends with so she came to me asking for help."

"How does Hinata fit into this then?"

"It was right around the time Hinata was almost kidnapped by the emissary from Kumo," Sarutobi answered. "She'd decided that she didn't want anyone getting into trouble for her so she asked her father to give her some training. As Hiashi was busy with the clan arrangements, he asked me train her and so I decided to train all three of them together."

"You trained them?"

"Yes, I trained them to be my body guards but I also sent them on missions to get their experience."

"Don't you need parental consent for that?" Ibiki Morino asked this time. The clan heads had forgotten about the non clan heads that were in the council room but his question reminded them that they were not entirely alone.

"Natsu being an orphan didn't have anyone to sign for her, Hinata had her father and Itachi forged their father's signature for Sasuke," to their shock, it was Iruka who answered the question.

"You knew as well Iruka?" Kakashi turned to the scarred chunnin/ANBU.

"Someone had to train the Reapers when the Hokage was not there and that someone happened to be me. Hokage-sama did not tell me who they were in the beginning. I found out on my own so don't be mad at him for not telling you."

"Anyway, I think we've gotten sidetracked." Hiashi said. "This meeting was called to decide the fate of the Sabaku siblings."

"We either accept them here as our own aspiring ninja," their old leader said. "Or we lose them and have strong enemies in the future."

"As you said Hokage-sama," Inoichi began. "Suna violated the treaty by sealing the Shukaku willingly into their own hosts, it would be an act of war if we were found but with the way things are in Suna, they wouldn't act on it now."

"I agree Hokage-sama," Tsume Inuzuka said. "It would be a great benefit to the village to have these three around. Besides, we have our own resident experts who can teach the twins how to control their powers."

"Does everyone feel the same or should we put it into a vote?" the question received nods of assent. "Very well, Kankuro shall be given the rank of genin while the twins will be put in the academy as soon as they can control the Shukaku's chakra."

"What about the Reapers Hokage-sama?" Anko, who had been very quiet throughout the whole discussion asked.

"They shall continue as they are," Sarutobi said. "They will maintain their cover as such they will enter the academy six months from now. After that, I shall decide when to announce their actual identities to the populace of the village. This shall be treated as a SSS-rank secret. If word got out, it shall be punishable by death, dismissed." He watched as most of the people shuffled out of the council room. When they were all gone, he turned to the few who were still there namely Kakashi, Natsu, Hinata, Sasuke, Hiashi, Iruka and Anko. "Natsu, take the children to get some rest and then follow us to my office."

"Hai Hokage-sama," she popped next to her fellow Reapers, asked Kankuro to hold on to her while she settled Temari on one side with Gaara on the other. They then disappeared in a blinding yellow flash. Sarutobi almost laughed at the open amazement the adult ninjas were displaying.

"Sasuke, Hinata," he turned his attention to the other Reapers. "Follow her. She didn't put her mask back on." He eyed the porcelain mask still lying on Kakashi's lap. "It will get ugly if the villagers see her saddled with three unknown children."

"Kakashi," Sasuke called out to the older man. "Can you give me her mask?"

"But..." Kakashi couldn't answer. His brain still hadn't caught up to the way things had gone. "How is this possible?"

"Kashi-nii," Hinata said as she and her boyfriend popped next to the white haired man. "Everything will be explained. For now, we need Natsu's mask and then you can meet us in the Hokage tower."

"Alright," Kakashi agreed grudgingly then handed the black mask to Hinata. "I'll meet you there." He said to no one in particular and then disappeared in his signature puff of smoke.

"Let's head to the tower," Sarutobi told the older ninjas as the two Reapers disappeared in their respective shunshins.

* * *

**AN: Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! I need help... this is as far as I've gotten and now I feel like I'm right in front of a thick stone wall with a metal wall and then a brick wall behind it.. I'm sorry in advance if I don't get to update as quick as the last few chapters. Imma be busy because school starts soon and I still haven't figured out how to continue this story.. **

**Love you all! Please R&R.  
**


	6. Chapter 5

"Kashi-nii," Hinata said as she and her boyfriend popped next to the white haired man. "Everything will be explained. For now, we need Natsu's mask and then you can meet us in the Hokage tower."

"Alright," Kakashi agreed grudgingly then handed the black mask to Hinata. "I'll meet you there." He said to no one in particular and then disappeared in his signature puff of smoke.

"Let's head to the tower," Sarutobi told the older ninjas as the two Reapers disappeared in their respective shunshins.

* * *

"Natsu?" Sasuke called out. He and Hinata were at Kakashi's apartment looking for the blonde.

"I'm in the bedroom," Natsu's subdued voice had them worried.

"Are you alright?" Hinata asked as she approached the girl sitting on the bed watching the three children sleeping.

"I'm just... tired," Natsu replied, brushing an unruly brown lock from Kankuro's sweaty forehead. The Sabaku siblings had fallen asleep together with the oldest in the middle. Hinata sat beside her, watching her face, waiting for her to explain why she was so down.

"I know but the day isn't over and we have a lot more explaining to do," Sasuke rubbed the blonde's shoulders in an effort to relax her.

"What if he doesn't really mean what he said?" Natsu asked after a moment of silence. The couple now understood her somber mood. She feared Kakashi's reaction about the children. "I mean... I know he did say that he would take them in for my sake but what if he changes his mind or he really didn't want to do it in the first place or he just-" Hinata cut her off.

"Natsumi, listen to yourself!" the dark haired girl's voice was gentle yet stern. "You're rambling. You know that he meant what he said. Kakashi is not one to joke about serious matters like this."

"What if he decides that he doesn't even want me anymore when he finds out what happened to me? I couldn't... I can't bear it if he suddenly decides he -" unshed tears shone in the corners of her eyes. She hung her head not wanting them to see her when she was vulnerable.

"Natsu," Sasuke began as he moved to kneel in front of her. "Look at me Suki," he said as he pulled her chin up so that he can look her in the eyes. "Listen to me, you know Kakashi's not like that. He loves you and you love him so what's the matter?"

"I'm not the same Natsu he knows," she replied.

"You are," Hinata said. "You're still the hyper blonde he knows and loves. You've just gotten older, matured physically but nothing had actually changed."

"I'm scared."

"We know that," Sasuke embraced his younger sister. "But you know you'll always have us behind you. Besides, you had to tell him the truth sometime."

"I know, but I'm still scared-" anything else she wanted to say was cut off when the building started to shake. The three turned in unison toward the window to see a massive mushroom cloud rise from one of the training grounds.

"You've got to calm him down," Sasuke urged the blonde hiding her face in his chest. "You _need _to calm him down before he destroys the whole village."

"But -"

"No buts," Hinata once more cut in. "Go to him, tell him everything he needs to know. He'll understand."

"Look after the kids?" Natsu said resignedly.

"Of course," the pupil-less girl replied. "Now go." Natsu left in the signature leaf shunshin.

"Damn it!" Kakashi cursed loudly as he stared at his now broken hand. "Why? Damn it, why couldn't she just tell me?" he stood in the middle of training ground eight. The landscape had changed where there was once lush grass, there was only burnt soil and the trees had also been toasted by the raikiri he had used. His hand glowed with lightning chakra, the sound of chirping birds could be heard in the distance as he used the earlier version of his raikiri. "Chidori!" he rammed his glowing hand into the ground creating another massive billow of smoke.

"Kakashi," Natsu's voice froze him in his tracks. He could just barely make out her form through the smoke but he was sure it was his blonde haired goddess. As the smoke cleared he saw Natsu still in her armor but without the mask on. "You have to be careful!" she admonished him. "Look at your hand, it's broken in so many places I don't even know where to begin fixing it," Natsu was already starting to heal him and Kakashi had no time to react to her presence before he was made to sit next to a tree while his fiancée turned her attention to his injured hand.

"Natsu," his voice trembled under the emotions muddling his mind. "Why?" Natsu knew what he was asking but at the same time she knew that she didn't want to answer his question.

"I was scared," she began, refusing to look at him and instead focused intently on healing his hand. "I'm still scared. I didn't know if you'd feel the same about me if you knew what had happened to me. I still don't know how you'll react to what I'm about to tell you and I'm afraid of how you'll react." Tears began to fall as she confessed, her grip on his hand tightening though not to the point of pain.

"Natsu," Kakashi's voice was firm as he turned her face to look at him. Darkened blue eyes stared back into a lone onyx orb. "I promise you there's nothing you can do that would make me turn away from you. I love you, I've loved you even before you knew about me and that will never change."

"I'm still not so sure about that," she mumbled. Kakashi was mesmerized. She was beautiful and knowing that she was his didn't do much to contain his urge to kiss her at the moment. Her cerulean eyes reflected pain and he wanted to take all that away from her, he didn't want to hurt her ever. He couldn't resist her, she was so alluring and he had to kiss her.

Kakashi pulled Natsu close, his forefinger and thumb holding her chin as he stared at her eyes, silently asking for her permission. He drew his face close, waiting until their lips were a hairsbreadth away from the other's. Natsu closed her eyes as he claimed her lips, his own rough yet gentle against her inexperienced ones. Slowly, shyly, she responded to him her mouth mimicking the way his lips moved.

She tasted sweet and he wanted more of her. He swiped his tongue across the seam of her lips making her gasp in surprise. He took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her moist cavern massaging hers and coaxing her to do the same to him. He moved his hands to her sides, lightly trailing up and down, making her moan into the kiss.

"They're waiting for us at jii-jii's office," Natsu said a few moments after they pulled away. Kakashi rested his forehead against hers as he contemplated on what to do next. He knew they needed to be briefed but at the same time, he didn't want to leave, he was too comfortable sitting there with Natsu in his arms.

"Let's go?" he asked his voice back to his usual lazy baritone.

"We probably should," Natsu said. "We'll have to stop by your apartment though; Hinata-nee and Sasu-nii are still there watching the kids."

"You brought them to my apartment?"

"Well, you did say you wanted to take them in..." Natsu said suddenly unsure of herself. "Unless, you changed your mind about that..."

"No," Kakashi was quick to make amends. "I'm just surprised. Let's go then?" Natsu transported them to the apartment in a swirl of fire. They found Sasuke and Hinata on the sofa dozing off. Sasuke lay on his back with Hinata on top of him.

"Let's go," Natsu said to the couple.

"Already?" Hinata asked sleepily.

"It's best to get it over with so we can get on with our lives." Kakashi said crossly.

"Alright fine," Sasuke said he rose.

"What about the kids?" Kakashi asked.

"I'll take care of them," they turned to the bedroom door to find a dark blue fox with three tails.

"Yukimaru," Natsu said as she rushed towards the fox. "Who summoned you?" he sent her a look that clearly said 'who-do-you-think?' "Right, stupid question, so why are you here?"

"I've been sent to watch over the kits especially the twins," Yukimaru said. "They felt the chakra outburst and they wanted to make sure it doesn't happen again. Now I believe you have a meeting to go to."

"We'll talk later," Sasuke said. "Take care of them Yukimaru."

"Of course, go," he replied. The four humans disappeared in their respective shunshins.

They arrived at the tower to find the adults sipping tea as they waited.

"Oh, you're here," Sarutobi said calmly. "We can begin then."

"What's to be said here cannot be heard by ears other than ours," Hinata said. "Hokage-sama we must ask you to make your ANBU leave."

"Do you doubt our abilities?" one furious elite ninja jumped from his hiding spot in the shadows to confront the Reapers.

"I never said anything about you not being strong enough," Hinata glared at the dolphin masked ANBU. "I merely said that the information we're about to pass on is not to be taken lightly-"

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the rude ANBU cut her off and Hinata lost her patience.

"I am Hinata Hyuuga!" she said, her voice dropping to a cold whisper. "I am heiress to the Hyuuga clan, fiancée to one Sasuke Uchiha and future matriarch of the Uchiha clan. Who are _you_ to question my identity?" she growled.

"I am from the great Byakuya clan," the ANBU said proudly. "We've been serving the hokages since the beginning of the Third's reign and will continue to do so. Now, I don't think you know who you're talking to but I can get you punished just for speaking to me in such a tone," his arrogance proved to be too much for the usually quiet heiress. She slammed him into the wall, the bookshelves shaking with the force, her action causing her fiancée and sister to smirk in unholy glee.

"I think I forgot to mention that I'm the Tenshi Reaper," her pupil less eyes glowed eerily, the edges turning silver while the center morphed into lavender. "You dolphin, have been reporting to Danzo." She snarled at her captive. The man's eyes widened behind his mask, his fear of the girl holding him manifesting itself through his other senses. "You're afraid." Hinata taunted. "That's good, it means you'll tell me everything I want to know."

"I-I-I won't s-s-s-say a-a-anything," the man stuttered in response.

"Sasu-kun, could you?" she turned to her fiancé, smiling sweetly at him. Sasuke grinned at her, his eyes turning red, three tomoes spinning rapidly.

"Of course hime," he walked towards his woman, wrapping his arms around her waist as she removed the frightened ninja's mask. "You know I'd do anything for you," he whispered huskily into her ear.

"Mmhmm," she murmured as he kissed her neck.

"Now let's see what you've been hiding from me dolphin-kun," he turned his attention to the man who now has his eyes scrunched shut. "Now this won't do, I need to look into your eyes for this to work," Sasuke's voice was strangely seductive.

"Could you open your eyes for me dolphin-kun?" Hinata's voice was equally hypnotizing and he couldn't resist. Chocolate orbs were revealed as dolphin opened his eyes, and then he was trapped.

"They're dragging it out," Natsu muttered angrily. "And just when I really want to go to bed." She looked around to find that the adults were watching the couple interrogate the ANBU. "Kashi-kun?"

"Natsu, how long have you been a team?" Kakashi asked his fiancée.

"About seven years," she led her to the couch in the office. "Since we've been training with jii-jii together, it's only natural that we become a team."

"So what are they doing now?" he asked as he sat down, pulling Natsu into his lap as he did so.

"They're interrogating him," Natsu said as she snuggled closer to him. "He's the same one who Sasu-nii almost killed on the night of the Uchiha massacre."

"What happened back then?"

"I was attacked in my apartment and Sasu-nii saved me," she began. "Then when we came here, we were trying to get into jii-jii's office but he stopped us. I tried to go past him, he grabbed me by the neck and called me a demon. Sasu-nii almost revealed everything then, he was lucky Sasu-nii only slammed him into the floor." She finished just as dolphin crumbled in front of the couple.

"What have you learned Hinata, Sasuke?" Sarutobi addressed the couple now seething with rage.

"This man was the mole," Hinata faced the elder ninjas. "He was a double agent. He was the one reporting to Danzo about your movements and decisions jii-jii."

"He also initiated most of the attacks on Natsu when she was younger," Sasuke spat. Natsu noted the way Kakashi tensed underneath her and had to fight off the smile at his protectiveness.

"I've always known he was up to something," Sarutobi sighed heavily. "Let's get on with the explanation so everyone can go home."

"Natsu, why don't you start by telling us how you three look like teenagers now," Hiashi said.

"It's because of Kyuubi," she began. "You know, it will be better if she explains everything." She continued and before anymore could be said, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Kyuubi no Kitsune."

A puff of cloud appeared where she slammed her hand into the floor. When the smoke cleared, there was a woman standing in the middle of the room. Her buxom figure was clear through the fitting kimono she wore, her flaming red hair flowing down her back; slit red eyes and full lips completed the beautiful woman's looks.

"Hello Natsu, Hinata, Sasuke, Hiashi-san and hokage-sama," she greeted all those she knew.

"Hello Kyuubi-san," Sarutobi greeted back. "Natsu summoned you because we need to know what happened to them to make them appear older."

"In that case, pull up a chair because it's a very long story."

* * *

**AN: waaah! okay, one a day shouldn't be too hard.. except it's difficult to know which way I'm going with this story.. more reviews please.. it keeps me motivated and it inspires me to write more.. **


	7. Chapter 6

"Hello Kyuubi-san," Sarutobi greeted back. "Natsu summoned you because we need to know what happened to them to make them appear older."

"In that case, pull up a chair because it's a very long story."

* * *

_A young girl with blonde hair, sky blue eyes and whisker marks on her cheeks was running. Her clothes were in tatters, her body was covered in dirt and grime and she had no shoes. Natsu Uzumaki, aged two ran from a mob of villagers. It was always like this, she had to fight for her life. In her two years she had almost the same amount of near-death experiences as the most seasoned shinobi. She could barely walk when she was kicked out of the Konoha orphanage and had since then learned to live without adult supervision. While other kids were tucked in their beds by night, Natsu was out scavenging for food hoping that no one would try to hurt her. _

_A three year old Sasuke was out of the Uchiha compound playing with the kunai he was given for his third birthday. He was waiting for his aniki who was out on a mission and couldn't be there for the Uchiha party but had promised to take him out when he got home. His ears pricked when he heard the sounds of a nearby fight. He had been told that he was to go to the academy when he turned eight and that his job would be to learn how to protect the villagers of Konoha. He just couldn't understand how someone could hurt other people inside their own village. _

"_Demon!" one shout in particular had him curious. "Die so we can avenge our families!"_

_Sasuke snuck towards the fight making sure he made no noise as he walked. He hid behind a tree then snuck a peek on the brawl. His gaze landed on sky blue and they screamed for help. His hands moved without him knowing and he began to throw his kunai blindly. Two men went down but there were four more ganging up on the blue-eyed child they were beating. Sasuke killed someone, somewhere deep inside him he was aware of this but he was busy worrying about the kid they had been beating. Suddenly there was a swarm of ANBU and a blast of red chakra. The downed blonde began to rise, her eyes turning red with slits, the whisker marks on her cheeks becoming more pronounced as her canines elongated._

"_Natsu," Sasuke heard his aniki's voice. His big brother was there and he was talking to the girl. "Calm down baby girl," Itachi coaxed the blonde. "I'm here now," Sasuke saw his brother remove his ANBU mask and then the chakra slowly dissipated. _

"_Ita-kun?" the girl asked fearfully as the red energy went back into her body. "Ita-kun!" she sobbed then launched herself at the man. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it. T-t-they came out of nowhere... I was just looking for food."_

"_Don't worry baby girl," Itachi rubbed soothing circles on the small girl's back. "You're not in any trouble."_

"_B-b-b-but I killed them!" she sobbed. _

"_It wasn't you," Itachi said. "It wasn't your fault they're dead. They did this to their selves. But I do know who killed them," Itachi said. "Otoutou, why don't you come out of there?" he called out to the hiding boy. _

"_A-a-aniki, will I be in trouble?" Sasuke asked as he slowly made his way over to the pair. The young boy vaguely watched as the other ANBU took care of the bodies. _

"_No Sasuke," Itachi said. "You won't get in trouble for protecting someone. Now come over here so you can meet Natsu-chan."_

"That's how I met Natsu," Kyuubi explained. "When I woke up from the sealing all I could feel was the pain she was experiencing and naturally I wanted to stop it. It was because of that event that I came to know my jailor. I flooded Natsu's body with my chakra as I tried to stop the immense pain I was feeling and accidentally built a connection with her. We've been able to speak since then."

"But-" Hiruzen Sarutobi did not take kindly to being lied to but before he could protest he was cut off by the demon lord.

"I know Hokage-sama," Kyuubi said. "There is a reason why Natsu told you that she had only started talking to me months ago. They're ninjas and deception is their best weapon, is it not?"

"Hai that's true but-" once again he couldn't speak.

"If two year old Natsu had told you that the big bad monster in her belly could speak to her what would you have done?"

"I would've had your seal looked at to make sure that she wasn't being influenced," Sarutobi answered immediately.

"And since no one but Minato actually knew how his seal works then you would have had someone put an extra seal above the shiki fuuin say like the gogyo fuuin which would've cut me off from Natsu. If that had been done, she'd have had no access to my power and would most likely die from all the attacks she'd been getting."

"So how is it that they are all in their teens now?" Hiashi asked the demon lord.

"It was due to my influence that they have matured physically," Kyuubi said. "I needed Natsu's body to be much older than her actual age for the training I put her through. As for Sasuke, he has my blood in him as well."

"How does Sasuke have your blood in him?"

"I was the one who gave Madara Uchiha the chance to become different from his family," Kyuubi replied. "You may not know this but Madara, the founder of the Uchiha clan was once a Hyuuga. He was ostracized because his Byakugan was different from the others and what people don't know about, they fear. He came to me and asked for my help. When I saw that his intention was to deviate from his oppressive clan, I made a blood compact with him which effectively changed his genetic code and brought out the Sharingan."

"Is that how kekkei genkai usually originate?" Iruka asked the ten thousand year old woman.

"Normally yes," Kyuubi said. "But for some others it is because they are containers for bijuu such as myself. For example, the Hyuuga clan's Byakugan originated from the Gobi. The first ever Hyuuga member was the premier jailor to the five tailed wolf and his genes changed to adapt to the bijuu's chakra thus developing the Byakugan."

"It still doesn't answer our question: How come they look almost twice as old as their actual age?" Anko asked impatiently.

"I was getting to that." Kyuubi huffed at the snake woman's lack of patience. "When the three children were put into a team by the Hokage, it meant that they would be spending more time with Natsu. I had just begun Natsu's training with my chakra and because she didn't have thorough control over it both Sasuke and Hinata were exposed to my chakra more often than not. Due to their exposure, I'd activated the dormant demon chakra in them. Now you should all understand that demons don't age like humans, we simply grow 'til we are at our prime and then we stay at that age. In human years, a demon's prime age would be at age twenty one which explains why they look as they do now."

"Let me get this straight," Kakashi spoke up. "You're saying that they actually have demon blood in them and that is the reason that they're growing so fast?"

"Exactly," Kyuubi said as she looked towards the couple on the couch. "But like I said, demons don't age. While technically they're not full demons, because they have some demon blood in them they are called hanyous or half-demons. This connection that they have with the demon world makes them incredibly difficult to kill. They're not immortal; there are still ways to kill them but any enemy would be hard pressed to do so."

"You also said that you needed Natsu's body to age due to the training you gave her," Hiashi said.

"That was also a factor," Kyuubi admitted. "I wanted my kit to be strong enough to fight her attackers and the type of training I put her through simply wasn't meant for a two year old child's body. And since, Hinata, Sasuke and Natsu had already become a team when I composed myself I had no choice but to include them in my training as well."

"So you trained all three of them?" Sarutobi asked.

"I was always training them," Kyuubi answered. "While I may not be able to train them physically in the real world I do have my ways."

"What type of training did you give them?" Kakashi once more asked.

"That is something you're better off not knowing," Kyuubi answered as she looked into the lone onyx eye of the copy nin. "Know this though, the Natsu you're holding in your arms right now is the real Natsu. This is the girl who's been hiding her identity and this, what you see before you it the actual her."

"She's right Kashi-kun," Natsu mumbled from Kakashi's lap. She turned round to face him as she said, "Which means you're not lusting for a nine year old girl." She chuckled mischievously at the blush that peeked over the mask her fiancé wore.

"Ne, Natsu-chan," Hinata called out to her younger sister. "Don't you think you should keep that kind of talk in the bedroom?" she smiled meaningfully.

"It's not going to happen on my watch," Sasuke growled menacingly. Kakashi returned the glare he was receiving with equal ferocity.

"Oh and before I forget," Kyuubi's voice broke the tension between the two men. "Since Natsu and Hinata both have demon blood in them, they will eventually go into heat." Both girls blushed brightly at the proclamation.

"Heat as in the season in which females are more fertile?" Iruka asked.

"Yes," Kyuubi snickered as most couples blushed at the implications of her words. "It is normal for female demons. During that time, only their mate will be able to get close to them. They will reject everyone, especially the males, who will even come close to them. They will also secrete pheromones that would drive any man crazy so I suggest getting out of the village when the time comes." Both Natsu and Hinata had hidden their faces in their respective partner's chests but they could still hear everything that was said.

"Do you by any chance, know when this will happen?" Iruka asked.

"I'm not entirely sure when but I think it will happen by the time they celebrate their eleventh human birthday."

"Hinata's turning eleven in December," Sasuke whispered.

"Thank goodness, Natsu's is still a year away," to everyone's shock, it was Anko who exclaimed this.

"Why is this better for Natsu?"

"If I understand correctly then Hinata and Natsu are going into heat because of the demon blood in them," Anko began. "So, correct me if I'm wrong but, doesn't it mean that Natsu's heat would be more potent because you're currently sealed in her. Hinata's shouldn't be of much trouble besides actually affecting Sasuke and other males she would come in contact with since the only reason her demon blood activated was because of her exposure to your chakra, am I right Kyuubi-san?"

"You're absolutely right Anko-san," Kyuubi praised the snake woman's insight. "Natsu would be dealing with not only her own instincts but mine as well which means the pheromones she would be releasing would affect every strong male in a radius of about one to two miles."

"That's almost the whole village!" the whole room was shocked with Hiashi's sudden outburst.

"That's true which is why I suggested that they leave the village when it comes close to the time of Natsu's heat."

"Wait, you said they would reject anyone who tries to get close to them," Iruka began. "And then you said that the pheromones would affect every strong male within the radius of Natsu's vicinity."

"When female demons get into heat, it means that they are ready to choose a mate. They need a strong male that could protect them but at the same time be their husband for the rest of their lives. Most demons only have one mate and that includes foxes and wolves which is why I said that they would reject anyone who tries to get close to them. Natsu and Hinata had already chosen their mates but it wouldn't stop other males from trying to claim them because of the pheromones they would be emitting. This would only happen though if they are not yet claimed by the time their heat arrives."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if they are claimed and marked by the time their heat arrives, the pheromones would only affect their mates as a signal that they are ready to bear children." Hinata couldn't take the information, she did what she had not done for a long time, and she fainted in Sasuke's arms. Sasuke himself didn't look like he would last long, his usually pale face had gone sheet white it looked like he had no more blood flowing through his veins.

Kakashi, on the other hand, froze at the information he was presented with. _"Mate with Natsu... children... mark her..."_ Sarutobi sighed heavily. He loved these three like they were his own grandchildren but sometimes they give him too many headaches.

"Arigato Kyuubi-san, for the information," he addressed the female who looked to be the only one enjoying the conversation. Iruka and Anko had thoughtful looks on their faces while Hiashi was positively murderous.

"No problem hokage-sama," the redhead bowed to the leader. "If you have any more questions, you may ask kit to summon me."

"Of course Kyuubi-san," Sarutobi answered. "You may take your leave now."

"I suggest you all go home and rest," Kyuubi said. "Especially you and Kakashi," Kyuubi turned her attention to Natsu. "You do have a new family to take care of." She said then disappeared as if she was never there.

"She's right," Natsu rose from her seat on the still frozen Kakashi's lap. "Jii-jii can we go home now, I need to check on the kids?" Natsu asked the old man.

"Go ahead Natsu," the lines on the aged leader's face were more pronounced. "In fact, we should all go home. It's been a long day and we do have a lot to do tomorrow." One by one the occupants of the room filed out of the hokage's office then went on their separate ways home.

* * *

**AN: I am so stressed coz I'm not getting a lot of reviews but still I want to update coz I know you're all reading... Please talk to me.. tell me what you think of the story so far.. thank you all!**


	8. Chapter 7

"Kaa-chan?" Natsu awoke to the sleepy voice of the twins. Turning to the doorway of the spare room in Kakashi's apartment, she found both children rubbing their eyes with their hands, the other intertwined with each other's.

"Gaara-chan, Temari-chan?" she moved to rise but Kakashi's hold on her waist tightened. "Kashi-kun, I need to get up," she whispered to the sleeping man.

"Why?" his sleepy voice was husky, sending shivers into her spine.

"The twins are awake," she said. "I need to get them back to bed."

"No, I don't want you to go," a bleary onyx eye opened to stare at cloudy blue pools.

"Then you wouldn't mind if they joined us in bed?"

"No I don't mind," Kakashi said with a sigh.

"Come here Ra-chan, Mari-chan," she beckoned to the twins. "What happened?"

"H-h-he was t-t-talking t-t-t-to me," Gaara hiccupped as soon as he got close to her. "I'm scared Kaa-chan," he sobbed.

"Hey, hey don't worry," Natsu assured the redheaded child. "I'm here now alright? He can't hurt you with me around." She picked up the small boy, clutched him closely to her chest. "What about you Mari-chan?" she turned her attention to the blonde girl. "Do you want to sleep with kaa-chan too?"

"No," she shook her head. "I'll go back to Kuro-kun." She said.

"Alright then," Natsu agreed. "Good night Mari-chan," she kissed the child's sandy locks.

"G'night kaa-chan," Temari hugged her and then left.

Natsu laid the sobbing boy in between her and Kakashi.

"Hush now Gaara-chan," Natsu said. "You'll be alright. I'm here now." The sobs slowly ebbed until he finally fell back asleep.

"Why do they call you kaa-chan?" Kakashi whispered as he watched the woman he loved.

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Natsu said, yawning as she did so.

"Good night my love," Kakashi whispered then captured her lips in a chaste kiss.

"Good night Kashi-kun," she replied, crystal blue eyes already fluttering close. Kakashi fell asleep, his arms wrapped protectively around his new family.

A bleary onyx eye opened to a shock of red. Kakashi looked around the room in confusion, his eyes roaming, searching for the answer as to why there was someone he didn't know sleeping on his chest. A giggle broke through his confused, sleepy gaze and he turned his attention to the bedroom door. There stood Natsu in one of his shirts, her blonde hair up in a messy bun looking like she had just woken up herself.

"Good morning, Kashi-kun," Natsu greeted as she walked towards him, hips swaying ever so slightly. The sight was so mesmerizing he didn't know how to answer. He groaned unintentionally at the sight, his reaction inciting another giggle from the blonde. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm confused at the moment," he answered truthfully. "I'm not sure really."

"Well, let me help you then," she leaned over to him, her face oh-so-close to his. Their lips met in a passionately sweet kiss, both pairs of eyes fluttering close due to their intimacy.

"I remember now," Kakashi muttered against her lips when they pulled apart. "Are the kids awake?"

"Not yet," Natsu said. "It's only six thirty."

"It's too early," Kakashi let out another groan. "Come back to bed."

"I can't," Natsu said. "I need to meet up with Hinata-chan and Sasu-nii."

"Why?"

"We need to prepare," she said, smoothing the silver locks of her beloved. "We're going to reseal Shukaku's consciousness today."

"Can I come then?"

"Actually, I need a favor," she looked into his onyx eye. "I need you to watch over the kids while we prepare everything and then bring them to jii-jii's office when it's time..." she trailed off. "Unless, you don't want to because I totally understand and in which case I'd call Yukimaru to help me and..." her babbling was cut short with a kiss.

"I'll take care of them," he smiled lovingly up at her. "What time should I bring them up to Hokage-sama's office?"

"I'll send someone here to call you," she kissed him again. "You won't have to worry about anything. If you need help, just ask Kankuro. He knows what do with the twins."

"Okay," Kakashi said, stealing another kiss as he did so. "I'll see you later."

"Take care," she whispered giving him a parting kiss as she did then left the room to prepare for the day.

Natsu was already in training ground three when Hinata and Sasuke arrived there nearly an hour later. She was doing her katas, moving gracefully from one to the next, lost in her own world as she did.

"Natsu-chan!" Hinata shouted excitedly but the blonde paid no heed to her call. Fifteen minutes later and Natsu was still unresponsive, Hinata's patience had run out. She ran over to the girl and blocked the next punch in her kata. She followed up with a kick that Natsu instinctively blocked.

"Good morning Hinata-nee!" Natsu greeted as they continued their impromptu spar.

"Good morning Natsu-chan!" the dark haired heiress responded as she jumped over a sweep meant to trip her. "I've been calling you for ages!" she complained.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about what we're supposed to do today." The blonde said as they separated.

"So do you have a plan on how we're going to seal Shukaku?" Sasuke asked as he walked over to the panting girls.

"Temari will be easy since we don't really know if the Shukaku's consciousness also affected her," Natsu said as she sat down on the cool grass. "I'll need you, Sasu-nii to look if Shukaku is actually a part of her consciousness."

"No problem," Sasuke replied.

"The difficult part would be Gaara. We know that he got the full brunt of the sealing and so I'm sure that Shukaku is somewhere within his mind. The thing is kyu-chan told me that Shukaku was always a psychopath but he didn't actually do any harm. So if we could see him and then talk to him, I'd know if he was affected by the failure of the twins' seals."

"So what do we need to do?" Hinata asked.

"Let's go to jii-jii's office and talk about it," she disappeared in a swirl of fire. Hinata shook her head but followed suit, disappearing in a flurry of leaves while Sasuke left using his lightning shunshin.

Kakashi woke up later that day with the sunlight streaming through his blinds. Gaara was still sleeping peacefully on his chest but he could hear someone moving around the apartment. He made a clone and quietly switched places with it so as not to wake up the redhead. Silently making his way out of the room, he listened for anymore noises as to track the person moving around in his home. The wonderful smell of pancakes hit his nose and he followed the scent to the kitchen.

"Kankuro?" he called to the boy who was moving cooking.

"Good morning Inu-san," the boy greeted him, turning from the stove to bow.

"Inu-san?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know your real name," the boy had a slight pink cheeks running across his nose in his embarrassment. "I just heard Su-chan telling Gaara that her boyfriend's name was Inu. Although I assume that is you ANBU mask?"

"You're right," the white haired man replied. "My name's Kakashi Hatake."

"I'm Kankuro Sabaku," the brown haired puppeteer said. "I hope you don't mind but my siblings are used to having breakfast when they wake up."

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi said almost dismissively as Kankuro turned his attention back to the stove.

"If you have any questions I'd love to answer them," Kakashi was surprised at the boy's politeness. At first glance, he seemed like he would be a rude child.

"Actually, I do have a few," Kakashi said.

"Ask away," Kankuro began to set the table for the two of them.

"How come the twins call Natsu mother and you don't?"

"Well, when we first met each other they were three and I was seven," Kankuro began. "It was during the time when our father began to have Gaara and Temari killed. They didn't understand why our father would try to kill them and they sought a mother's embrace. I did all I could to make them feel loved but really I was only seven so I didn't really know what to do. That day, the twins had just survived another attack from our tutor. They were in their room, hugging each other as they cried. The dead body of Hiruma-san was only a few feet from them when I got there. I took them out of the Kazekage's mansion and into an oasis I had discovered during training."

_Team Itachi was resting in a secret oasis in the land of Wind. They had successfully infiltrated Suna's walls and had some time to kill before their destined mission. Itachi was impressed with his otoutou and his team. They had managed to keep up with his pace even if they were now tired while he was barely winded. They'd managed to cut down the travel from three days to a day and a half and he was proud of his three charges. _

"_Ne, Ita-kun," he turned his attention to the youngest member of the team. The blonde hair and whisker marks were a dead giveaway as to the young woman's identity. Somehow, he still couldn't believe that these three were actually toddlers. They were only three and four years old and yet their bodies were those of children twice their age. It had been explained to him by the culprit as to the changes but he still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Sasuke, Hinata and Natsu were- _

"_Itaaaaaaaaaaa-kun," Natsu's long winded whine cut his thoughts short. _

"_Sumimasen," the raven haired ANBU captain turned his full attention back to the blonde. "What did you need Natsu-chan?"_

"_How long do we have for this mission?" the blue eyed girl asked. _

"_We have-" he couldn't continue as three children stumbled into the oasis. One had dark brown hair, another red while the only girl was blonde. _

"_Who are you?" the brown-haired child asked warily as he pushed his siblings behind him. He then took notice of their attire and the headbands they wore. "You're ninja aren't you?" he only received nods in response. "Could you please help us?"_

"_You're not going to alert your village?" Itachi asked in bewilderment. "We are foreign ninja."_

"_I don't care what you do to the village but could you please take us away from here?" the boy dropped to his knees, his voice shaking with desperation._

"_Why would you want to leave your home village?" it was Sasuke who asked him this time._

"_My father's been trying to kill my siblings ever since they turned three," he explained. "I don't want them to die."_

"_Who is your father?" Itachi asked._

"_The Kazekage."_

"_Wait, you're Kankuro?" Hinata said in shock. _

"_Do you know him, hime?" Sasuke turned his attention to the dark haired heiress. _

"_He was one of the candidates the council of elders wanted to give me to," Sasuke growled at her response. _

"_Don't they know that you're mine?" Sasuke hissed angrily as he wrapped an arm around her waist possessively. _

"_Whoa there otoutou," Itachi smirked at his little brother. "You're only three." He reminded him. _

"_They're only three?" Kankuro asked in shock. _

"_It's a long story."_

"_We have time," the boy felt at ease with these foreign ninja. He ushered his siblings closer to them and they settled in to listen to the unusual tale. _

"That meeting was followed one after the other," Kankuro told the copy nin. The used plates lay on the table, empty after the long tale the silver haired ninja had listened to. "Su-chan became the mother figure to Gaara and Temari and that's why they call her kaa-chan."

"So you don't call her mom because you know about how they look older?" Kakashi asked.

"Uh-huh," Kankuro began to clear the table. "Kakashi-san, what are we supposed to do now?"

"Well today Natsu said that they will try to seal Shukaku's consciousness so go get ready because they might call us any time now." The older man replied. "I'll take care of the dishes. Go wake up your siblings."

"Temari's already awake and ready," Kankuro said. "She's playing in the room."

"Why didn't she come out here and eat with us?"

"She's shy and she doesn't know if she's supposed to call you tou-chan now that she's seen you sleeping with Su-chan," he answered. Kakashi was stumped at the reply he got.

"Oh."

"Yeah, anyway, I'll go get Gaara ready." Kakashi nodded and then Kankuro left.

"Are we clear jii-jii?" Natsu asked the old man. They had been arguing over the means in which they would do the sealing but they had finally gotten to a truce. "We'll do it here in your office but I don't want that pervert in here. If you really need assurance that my seal will work, I'll summon Kyuu-chan but I don't want that perverted toad summoner anywhere near my children!" at the moment, she was a mother worrying for her children.

"Natsu, he was your father's teacher..." Sarutobi tried to argue.

"I know and he's also my godfather but where was he all these years?" she asked bitterly. "**Where was he? If you can answer me that, then I might accept him.**" Hinata approached the terribly hurt, young woman and embraced her.

"It's time Natsu-chan," Hinata whispered to the sobbing blonde. "Summon Yukimaru to call them." Natsu nodded. She broke away from the embrace and did the handsigns for the summoning jutsu.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" she slammed her hand against the floor and in a puff of smoke, a familiar blue-furred, three tailed fox appeared.

"Ohayo Natsu-sama!" Yukimaru greeted his summoner cheerfully. "What can I do for you today?"

"Ohayo Yukimaru," Natsu greeted. "I need you to go to my mate's apartment and ask him to come here with the kits."

"Very well," he replied then sped off through the window.

Kakashi was on the couch reading a romance novel with Gaara on his lap. The redhead had grown quite attached to the silver-haired ninja and he had already begun calling the copy nin 'tou-chan'. There was a light scratching on the door and Temari ran to open it.

"Yuki-kun!" she shouted as soon as she threw the door open.

"Hello Temari-chan," Yukimaru greeted the girl who was already on his back, playing happily with his tails. "Kakashi-sama," he called to the man who was watching the scene with much amusement. "Natsu-sama said to tell you it's time." Kakashi nodded.

"Kankuro!" he shouted through the apartment. "It's time to go!"

"Okay tou-chan!" came the reply. Kakashi blushed at the unexpected honorific.

"I see the kits are already warming up to you Kakashi-sama," Yukimaru said.

"Tou-chan, is it time to meet kaa-chan?" the teal-eyed boy bounced excitedly on the copy nin's lap.

"Hai Gaara-chan, do you want to go meet her now?"

"Hai, hai!"

"Alright, go get Kankuro-kun," he told the young boy. "He's taking too long."

"Kuro-kun!" Gaara shouted as he ran towards the room.

"Ne Temari-chan," Kakashi listened as Yukimaru spoke to the girl. "Why aren't you talking to your kaa-chan's mate?"

"But Yuki-kun~" the blonde whined.

"No buts Mari-chan," the fox scolded the small child. "It's impolite to not speak to the person who has given you food and shelter, not to mention your kaa-chan would be sad to find out that you're not talking to her mate."

"You won't tell on me, would you Yuki-kun?" the girl pouted at being told off.

"You know I can't lie to your mother," he answered. Kakashi chuckled at the conversation.

"Tou-chan, tou-chan!" the hyperactive boy came back into the room dragging his brother by the hand. "Let's go! I wanna see kaa-chan!" he dropped his brother's hand and opted to run to his 'father'.

"Alright," Kakashi scooped up the redhead. "Come here Kankuro," he called to the oldest. "We'll shunshin to the tower, it'll be faster." The group disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**AN: I did my best... tell me about it would you? i love you guys! **


	9. Chapter 8

"Kaa-chan, kaa-chan!" Gaara scrambled off of Kakashi's arms as soon as they appeared in the hokage's office. Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at the honorific.

"Hello Gaara-chan!" Natsu greeted the young boy. "Did you sleep well?" she managed to keep them both upright after he launched himself at her.

"Hai!" the boy nodded enthusiastically. "Tou-chan is very comfy!" he said proudly. Natsu froze at the words.

"Tou-chan?"

"Hai, kaa-chan is with tou-chan," Gaara explained. "So tou-chan is tou-chan." Hinata giggled at the way he explained it. Sasuke smirked at the Copy Nin who was rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Okay then," Natsu said. "Where's Mari-chan?" she looked around in the room to find the sandy blonde girl on hiding behind Yukimaru. She was peering up at Kakashi and then looking at Natsu guiltily. "Temari, what are you doing there?"

"Natsu-sama, I believe Temari-chan has something to tell you," the fox nudged the girl towards her mother with his tails.

"No, I don't!" she protested loudly.

"Temari, what is it?" Natsu asked as she beckoned to the girl.

"Kaa-chan..." the sandy blonde walked to her mother slowly, unsure of what she wanted to say. "Can I call Inu-san... tou-chan too?"

"Do you want to?" Natsu asked her, receiving a nod in response. "Then why don't you?"

"I don't know if he likes it," she mumbled in her mother's embrace. "But Gaara-chan and Kuro-kun call him tou-chan so I wanna do it too." Hinata smiled at the scene while Sasuke and the aged Hokage did the same.

"We'll talk about it later okay?" Natsu told the girl who nodded happily at her.

"Right," Sasuke said. "I think we're forgetting why we're here."

"I think so too," Natsu said. "Ne, Mari-chan I want you to go play I spy with Uncle Sasu."

"Really?" Natsu nodded at the girl. Temari scrambled to her uncle, sitting on his lap.

"I'll go first Mari-chan," Sasuke told the girl in his lap. Hinata giggled at the cuteness displayed in front of her. "I spy with my little eyes... something green."

Temari looked around the room, searching for the object his uncle saw. "Is it in this room?"

"Yes."

"Do I know what it is?"

"Yes."

"Does Gaara-chan have it too?"

"Maybe..."

"Uncle Sasu~" Temari whined, jade orbs clashing with ruby. Suddenly, the tomoes spun and Temari was taken into her mindscape with Sasuke. "Uncle Sasu, where are we?"

"We're in your mind, Mari-chan," Sasuke answered, holding the little girl's hand as they began to explore.

"What are we doing here?"

"We're looking for fluffy."

"Why?"

"No more questions for now Mari-chan," Sasuke said as he picked up the little blonde.

"**Who dares come here!" **a booming voice sounded just ahead of them.

"Shukaku?" Sasuke called out as he followed the voice.

"**Who are you?"** the voice was strangely gentle as they asked.

"I am Sasuke Uchiha," he answered as he came up to the bars where the one-tailed raccoon dog was jailed. There were webs of cracks through the seal and the bars themselves looked rusty, as if they could break at any second.

"**I see," **the large demon said. **"And what do you need of me?"**

"I just wanted to ask if the sealing did anything to you," Sasuke asked.

"**The faulty seal that the insane Third Kazekage put on me broke my already impaired mind. I'm sure Kyuubi has told her jailor that I was slightly crazy but not to the point of hurting others."**

"How do you know that?"

"**Even though I am sealed in here, I am aware of the outside world," **Shukaku said. **"It shouldn't be possible for sealed beings like me but because the pups' seals are weak, I can see everything they see and feel everything they feel."**

"So you see them as your own too?"

"**It's difficult not to see them in that light especially since it's what they really are,"** Shukaku replied. **"I know I should be resentful towards them for keeping me here but I can't do that because I saw and felt how they were treated just for being my cage."**

"If you're here then that must mean that the broken part of your mind is in Gaara?"

"**Hai, if you could just call on to Kyuu-chan I can tell her what to do,"** the male demon said.

"How do we get you out of here?"

"**There's a seal on the pup's neck that looks like me,"** Sasuke looked at the area said. **"It's a summoning seal."**

"How come you've never been out of Temari's mindscape before?"

"**Whenever they would lose control I carefully kept the chakra away from that spot,"** Shukaku said. **"Gaara has the same one behind his right ear."**

"Is it safe to summon Gaara's Shukaku?"

"**We'll see after I talk to Kyuu-chan." **

"Alright," Sasuke turned his attention to the blonde he was holding. "Mari-chan say goodbye to Shukaku."

"Bye Shu-kun!"

"**I'll see you outside pup."** The demon waved a lazy tail at the girl.

Only a minute had passed since Sasuke entered Temari's mind and he returned. The raven was trying to catch his breath, panting from the exertion of using such a draining technique. Temari was already out, snoring softly.

"What just happened?" Kakashi asked. Out of all the people in the room, he was the only one who didn't know what they were doing. Natsu moved to stand next to her fiancé with Gaara on her hip.

"Sasu-nii used the Tsukuyomi to go into Temari's mindscape and talk to the Shukaku," Natsu relayed.

"Natsu," Sasuke called to his younger sister as soon as he caught his breath. "Shukaku said to call onto Kyuubi so he can talk to her about the twins' seals." The blonde nodded at her brother's instructions.

She handed over Gaara to Kakashi, did the necessary hand signs and called out, "Kuchiyose no jutsu: Kyuubi no Kitsune!" a familiar woman appeared in front of them, her fiery red hair cascading down her back, red-slitted eyes narrowed slightly in confusion her kimono slightly open to reveal silky smooth skin.

"Natsu?"

"Kyuu-chan, it's time to talk to Shukaku," Hinata answered as she cradled her boyfriend's head. Sasuke had fallen asleep from exhaustion.

"Alright," Kyuubi said. "Natsu, I need you to look at the back of Temari's neck." Natsu did as she was told after giving Gaara to Kakashi. "Do you see the mark there?" the blue eyed blonde nodded. "I need you to channel my chakra there."

"Okay." She focused red chakra on her fingertip. "How much?"

"About half a tail's worth," Kyuubi replied. Natsu touched the mark Kyuubi's chakra carefully measured to what she's been instructed.

When the smoke cleared, there was a handsome man standing in the room. He had auburn hair, his kimono the color of the sand and his eyes were golden with a strange diamond in them. There was a moment of silence as he surveyed every occupant in the room.

"Shu-kun," Kyuubi muttered her ruby eyes slightly glazed with unshed tears.

"Kyuu-chan," Shukaku said. "How have you been?"

"I've been..." the room stood still in shock as the ten thousand year old woman broke down in a fit of sobs. The golden eyed, auburn haired man approached the crying woman and encased her in a comforting hug.

"We'll talk later," Shukaku said. "For now, we need to find out what happened to the other part of me that was sealed into Gaara." Kyuubi nodded afraid to speak and Shukaku turned his attention to the silver haired ninja. "You there, you are the copy nin correct?"

"Hai."

"You're the one my pups see as their father," Shukaku said calmly his eyes boring into the lone onyx orb revealed. Kakashi felt like he was being interrogated, no it was different. He had the strangest _need _to tell him everything. "I can see why." As soon as it came, the feeling was gone and the brown-haired man was simply looking at him intently. "I need you to go into Gaara's mind and look for the Shukaku in him."

"Why me?"

"The Uchiha is out of commission," Shukaku shrugged. "I don't know of anyone else who can do this without getting hurt. You do have a mature Sharingan, don't you?"

"I do but, I'm not an Uchiha. I don't know the technique Sasuke used on Temari."

"That's not a problem," Shukaku replied then turned his attention back to Kyuubi. "Will you?"

"You want me to do _that_?"

"How else can we continue?"

"But..."

"You very well know that it would take him a full night's rest before he replenishes enough power to do the technique again."

"Fine." Kyuubi conceded. "Kakashi come here." Said ninja followed the order. He gave Gaara to Kankuro and walked towards the woman. Natsu, Hinata and Sarutobi watched curiously. "Remove your hitaite."

"What?"

"Just do it!"

"Fine..." Kyuubi bit her thumb beads of blood appearing on the surface of the skin. She swiped the bloody finger across the man's Sharingan eye. Kakashi's hand clutched at his eye when he felt the flash of pain. It was gone as soon as it had come. He removed his hand and stared around the room. The constant tug of chakra was gone from his left eye.

"Now, activate your Sharingan," Shukaku ordered.

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi asked. "I can't _deactivate_ my Sharingan so how is it possible to _activate_ it?"

"Just channel chakra into your eye." The one tailed bijuu snapped.

"Kyuu-chan?" Natsu called to the woman. "Did you?"

"Yes." Natsu ran to her and captured her in a happy embrace.

"Thank you!"

"You know I didn't need to do that," Kyuubi said. "It would've happened when you mated with him." Natsu looked indignantly at her. "Hn."

"Excuse me Kyuubi-san," Sarutobi interrupted the conversation. "What exactly did you do?"

"I enhanced his Sharingan," Kyuubi said casually.

"Impossible," Kakashi breathed. He lost all strength and his knees crumbled. He landed on his backside, sitting on the floor, looking suspiciously at the bijuus.

"And yet I did it," red eyes narrowed at the copy nin. "You forget, I was the one from whence it came from."

"Gaara-chan," Natsu called to the redhead who was in his brother's arms. Gaara ran towards his kneeling mother. "Look at tou-chan's eyes." she told him. "Do you see anything different?"

"No," Gaara peered up at his 'father's' eyes. They were black but there really wasn't anything different. "There's nothing there kaa-chan," Gaara turned to look up at his mother.

"Oh?" she feigned ignorance as she gave Kakashi an almost imperceptible nod. "Then how about now?" she urged the boy to look at the silver haired man. Teal met mismatched eyes and they were both sucked into the younger's mind.

"Tou-chan where are we?" Gaara asked the man who was carrying him.

"I think we're in your mind."

"What are we doing here?"

"We're looking for _him_," he told the boy.

"No!" Gaara said. "I'm scared of him!"

"But tou-chan's with you, right?"

"B-b-b-but..."

"I'm hurt Gaara-chan," Kakashi gave his 'son' the most hurt look he could conceive. "You have no faith in tou-chan."

"I do!" Gaara protested. "I'm just scared."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Kakashi froze as he was blasted with killer intent and a massive amount of chakra.

"**Hahaha! You cannot protect him! He is weak therefore he should die so I can be free!"**Shukaku's voice boomed around them. Kakashi couldn't hold the jutsu with the amount of chakra being sent to him. **"Leave! You have no place here!"** and then he was cast out. Kakashi collapsed as soon as the connection broke.

"What happened?" Natsu asked worriedly as she looked over her father and son. "Gaara's Shukaku is too far gone. We haven't even seen him before he cast us out." Gaara began to leak chakra, the power slowly rising in intensity. Kakashi clutched the boy tighter in hopes that he could stop it.

"Natsu, we have to go!" Kyuubi's voice was full of urgency.

"But..."

"There's no time to waste!" Kyuubi said. "Grab the twins, we need to get to the den. Now!" Natsu hadn't heard Kyuubi as panicked as she sounded before. She plucked Gaara from Kakashi's arms and rushed across the room towards Sasuke, Hinata and Temari.

"Hina-chan, take care of them for me," Natsu said as she picked up the blonde girl.

"Let's go, we don't have much time!" Kyuubi shouted. Natsu went to the two bijuus.

"We'll be back." Natsu's last words before the group disappeared.

It's been two weeks since Natsu had gone with Kyuubi, Shukaku and the twins and Kakashi was worried. Hinata and Sasuke were at his apartment watching over Kankuro while he gathered his thoughts. He'd been distracted lately, unable to go on missions and function properly. He'd been given a month off, a break he badly needed. He knew he should be the one taking care of Kankuro but it seemed as if the boy understood. He was startled when he felt a familiar chakra running towards him.

"Kakashi-sama," Yukimaru greeted formally. "I have a message from Natsu-sama." He handed the still dazed shinobi a scroll. "I'm afraid I cannot wait for your response, I have other matters to attend to." Yukimaru was about to leave when he heard Kakashi's soft voice.

"Are they alright?"

"Yes, they're fine," the blue-furred fox said. "They also want you to know that they'll be back soon. The rest will be in the scroll. I suggest you gather the others before you open it."

"Thank you," Kakashi said gratefully. "Please take care of them."

"Hai!" and then he sped off. Kakashi stared at the scroll in his hand thoughtfully he briefly wondered what it said until he remembered Yukimaru's words. _"I suggest you gather the others before you open it."_

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

"What can I do for Kakashi?" the brown pug named Pakkun asked.

"Go to my apartment," he ordered. "Tell Hinata and Sasuke to meet me in the hokage's office and bring Kankuro with them."

"Okay." The dog ran off to do what he was told as Kakashi shunshined to the tower. He knocked on the Hokage's door and received a muffled reply. He opened the door to find the old man on his table with stacks of paperwork surrounding him.

"Kakashi, what can I do for you?" the aged leader was jovial even though he looked so exhausted.

"I have a message from Natsu Hokage-sama," the brief widening of the old man's eyes was the only indication of surprise. Before he could react there was a flash of lightning and there stood Sasuke and Hinata with Kankuro in between them.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked immediately.

"Yukimaru came and brought me this," he raised the scroll slightly.

"Tou-chan, can I see that?" Kankuro asked. Kakashi held it out to him and the brown-haired boy took it from his father's clutches. "It has a blood seal on it."

"How do you know?" Kakashi asked the boy.

"It's the same one she used to send us in Suna," Kankuro replied. "The seal can only be opened by me." He took a kunai from his pouch and cut his thumb. Swiping it across the seal, he smiled at the adults went it dissolved and the scroll rolled open in his hands. "Should I?" he received nods in response so he began reading.

_Jii-jii,_

_I'm sorry if we disappeared like that. It was necessary for Gaara's and the rest of the village's survival. His seal finally broke and the resulting backlash of chakra would've wiped out everything within a ten mile radius. We're in Makai, or the demon dimension. Shukaku and Kyuubi brought us here so we could train using their powers. Gaara's been out for the whole week after we resealed the part of Shukaku that was in him. He's fine now but we can't go back home yet because he loses control far too easily. I know what a headache this would be but we won't come back until we finish our training. Shu and Kyuu think we'll be ready for the genin exams that will happen in another year. _

_Again, I'm sorry for making you worry but we have to do this. Don't worry, I'll send more messages once things settle down a bit more._

_Hina-nee & Sasu-nii,_

_I hope you've been taking care of my boys. I know Kakashi and he will worry his head off. Aniki, would you please continue training Kankuro? I want him to be on par with the twins by the time we return so that we could form an assault team. He would be the support, mid and long-range attacker while the twins would be the strike force. _

_Hina-nee, remember what Kyuu said? When your time comes, you need to do something about it. It's unavoidable but be careful because you can easily get pregnant. We don't want that yet, now do we? Take care of aniki would you?_

_Sasu-nii, kyuu says to go through the memories you gained from when your Sharingan matured to the three tomoe. It would help when Hina-nee's time comes. Watch Kakashi, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I want him to still be alive and in one piece when I return okay?_

_Kankuro,_

_Kuro-kun, I'm sorry that we didn't take you. It wasn't quite planned but we wouldn't have been able to take you into Makai even if we did. Continue your training, don't stop doing the exercises I gave you and listen to everything your uncle tells you to do. Also take care of tou-chan ne? I love you and I hope you would be stronger when we come back. Temari says hi, Gaara would too but he's still asleep. Just take care, please? I don't want to have to worry about you too. _

_Kashi-kun,_

_I love you Kashi-kun. Please, stop moping as I'm sure that's what you will be doing when Yukimaru finds you. I told him to go to the memorial stone because I know you'll be there. I don't want you to worry about us. Kyuubi and Shukaku will take care of us. If I'm correct, jii-jii gave you a month off. I'd been begging him to do that because I'd wanted to spend time with you. Even so, make use of that time. Rest, take a vacation, train Kankuro just don't do anymore missions. Get to know our eldest.  
_

_I want to see you at your best when I return because I assure you that you will be trying hard to keep up with me and the twins. Also remember that when I return, there's a job waiting to be done. It's one that only you and I could do, maybe we'll have to take some time off to do it. I love you, don't forget that. By the way, Temari says to tell tou-chan that she misses you and she wants to sleep on you too like Gaara did._

_I'll be sending another message soon okay? Wait for me._

_Natsu Suki Uzumaki Hatake_

Kakashi stood in the middle of the room, apparently the center of attention. Hinata and Sasuke were smirking at him while Sarutobi looked at him with a perverted smile. He could vaguely hear the way Natsu would giggle at the reactions of the occupants of the room.

"Ne tou-chan?" Kankuro broke the uncomfortable silence. "What did kaa-chan mean when she said you had a job to do?" they couldn't help it. The adults laughed at the innocent question while Kankuro stared all around him in confusion. "What?"

Life was good.

* * *

**AN: So, how was it? tell me please. i need more reviews. the more the reviews, the quicker the updates would be. Thanks! **

**Allie :)  
**


	10. Chapter 9

Crystal blue watched as the man slept. His silver hair caught the moonlight, his breathing slow and even. The mask was gone, revealing the handsome face that the man owned. He wore a dark grey top and boxers that left nothing to the imagination. His muscular arms and legs, his lean body and pale complexion were taken in by cerulean orbs, memorizing every inch of the man presented before them. Gliding out of the shadows, they were quiet as they took off their cloak followed by a kunai and shuriken pouch. A katana was removed from their person and was left leaning against the wall. They stripped down to their underwear, rummaged the closet for a large shirt before joining the man on the bed.

His dreams were plagued of images of his mate. Her long blonde hair tied up into a single ponytail, the voluptuous body that was usually hidden by the ANBU armor and those captivating blue eyes that seemed to bore deep into one's soul. He missed her so much along with their two children. He could just see her holding both their hands as they walked towards him, towards their home. Mismatched eyes opened abruptly. There was that feeling that he was being watched. His gaze clouded with confusion and when they finally cleared, red and black met ocean blue.

"You're home," he smiled lovingly at her. He silently prayed it was real, that she was actually there as he reached for her. Flesh met flesh and he sighed in relief as he pulled her close against him. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she looked up at him, her soft smile making her more beautiful in his eyes. He leaned forward, his lips capturing hers after so long. She responded eagerly, easily matching his movements with her own.

Kakashi fell back asleep, after ensuring one more time that she was back in his arms. Natsu's clear blue gaze fluttered close as she smiled at his possessiveness. She was home.

There was no other way to describe it, it was **chaos**. He'd woken up that morning, expecting to do his and Kankuro's normal routine, they'd eat breakfast, go to the hokage tower to talk to the old man, meet up with Sasuke and Hinata and then train until it was time to go home. They'd been doing this every day since Natsu had left with Temari and Gaara so it was to his utter shock when he found his apartment thrashed by the redheaded ball of energy.

"Gaara," the tone was stern and promised of pain. He turned to his side in shock at hearing his beloved's voice. "Clean this up now." The command was said in a voice so cold, he shivered where he stood.

"But kaa-chan~" the boy whined at his mother.

"You will clean it up or I will call either Kyuu-chan or Shu-kun and let them deal with you."

"You wouldn't," teal eyes narrowed stubbornly.

"Do you want to take the chance?" the redhead conceded and set about to make handsigns. "No jutsu," Natsu once more ordered. "You did this without using any jutsu, you fix it on your own." Gaara grumbled but did as his mother said anyway. On the other side of the room, Kankuro panted slightly having tried to stop the destructive ball of energy that was his younger brother while Temari laughed at her twin.

"Natsu?" Kakashi turned his attention to his fiancée. "When did you return?"

"Just last night or have you already forgotten?"

"So it was real?"

"I think so," her voice turned to playful. "I mean, I am right here aren't I?" she found herself scooped up in his arms, on their way to the bedroom.

"God I missed you," he said as he lay her down on the bed. Quickly following after her, he wasted no time in capturing her lips, ravaging her mouth as he expressed his pent up feelings in the most physical way possible. His hands trailed up and down her sides, slowly but surely pulling up the shirt she was wearing. His kisses trailed down her neck as he palmed her bare breasts, her breathing becoming ragged, her heartbeat erratic under his touch.

"Kashi," she moaned, her head thrashing side to side. She pulled him back up kissing him full on the mouth as she reached in between them to grasp at his already hard length. His groan was deep and guttural, her actions causing him to squeeze her soft mounds. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him closer, causing his erection to ground into her core. She moaned at the heat he radiated and he answered with his own. There was a crash from somewhere in the apartment, and all movement stopped. Natsu sighed loudly, tucking an errant strand behind her ear. She cupped his cheeks and gave him a long, lingering kiss. "Kashi, I want to, really I do. It's just not the time," she said. He nodded and smiled at her. He rolled off and just lay beside her.

"Have you been to the office?" he asked as he watched her fix the shirt.

"We reported to jii-jii first before we came here."

"So what do you have planned for the day?" he asked pulling her close to him. He took in her scent; he had missed her so much.

"I think we'll go meet with Sasu-nii and Hina-nee," the blonde replied. "I need to talk to them about something."

"How was their training?"

"Well, Temari's mind is now catching up to her age," Natsu said. "It turned out that she only pretended to become childish when she realized that Gaara was doing it to protect himself. The problem was that his Shukaku was the brainless psychopath so Gaara really wouldn't mature enough mentally. He'll be effective on missions though his mind will stay on five years old. Though Shukaku did say that there's a key, something it could be an event or a person that will sort of unlock Gaara's maturity. It could happen at any time."

"Interesting," Kakashi mumbled against her golden locks.

"But Shu-kun did say that I shouldn't get my hopes up."

"We'll worry about it when the time comes. Let's go meet with Hinata and Sasuke," Kakashi said. "Usually by this time, we're at training ground ten."

"Maybe we'll have a spar to see how strong everyone's gotten."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the Professor, and God of Shinobi stared in awe at the scene displayed before him. He had only meant to go for a walk, stretch his legs after battling with his daily enemy and had accidentally stumbled upon a group of ninjas sparring. On one side was a group of three on the other, a group of four. Even though they were outnumbered, they were hanging on.

"Gaara, let's go!" Natsu's voice was hardened by experience.

"Hai," the redhead answered. "Sand style: Sand Tsunami!" his outstretched hands directed the wave of sand towards their opponents in an attempt to swarm them.

"Grand Fireball jutsu!" Sasuke launched a giant fireball at the oncoming sand turning it into glass. Natsu smirked, their plan had worked.

"Temari!"

"Wind style: Sonic air!" the blonde swung her fan in the direction of the glass pane. It shattered on impact, sending glass shards towards the group of four. Natsu made handsigns as she prepared her jutsu while their opponents were protecting themselves from the shower of glass.

"Fire style: fox flame," two foxes made of blue fire appeared next to her and ran at Kankuro and Kakashi. Thinking quickly Hinata made her own handsigns.

"Water style: Water dragon!" out of thin air, a massive water dragon collided with the two foxes but it only served to make a cover for the ambush that was to come.

"Earth style: earth dome prison!" Gaara slammed his hands onto the ground, his chakra flowing through the soil.

"Temari," Natsu ordered silently. Temari swung his fan to clear the mist and reveal their opponents. Kakashi, Sasuke, Hinata and Kankuro were caught. They were all covered in soil, each one in their own earthly prison. Their faces were shown so that they could breathe and the fire foxes were watching them vigilantly. "I think we win." Natsu taunted.

"Natsu," Sarutobi finally found his voice.

"Jii-jii!" Gaara ran towards the old man, launching himself at him, releasing the earth domes as he did so. "Did you see? We won, we won!" he exclaimed proudly. Despite being taller and looking more mature physically, the redhead hadn't changed in terms of attitude.

"Hai I did, Gaara-kun," the old man ruffled his hair affectionately then turned his attention back to their mother.

"Jii-jii, what are you doing here?" Natsu asked as he approached the aged leader.

"I was actually only out for a walk and I saw you sparring so I stayed to watch," he replied.

"So what did you think, hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked as he moved to stand next to Natsu.

"Let's go to my office," he said. "I want to talk to you all about your plans."

"I can take you there jii-jii," Gaara presented.

"How?"

"Easy," Gaara said and the two disappeared in a swirl of sand. Natsu shook her head at her son's attitude.

"He's developed quite the hyperactive personality," Sasuke remarked.

"You have no idea," Temari said.

"Well, I think it wouldn't do to keep them waiting," Hinata said and the group disappeared in their respective shunshins.

"So what did you want to talk about jii-jii?" Natsu asked as soon as they had all settled in the office.

"If you would," the old man gestured to the room in a silent command. Natsu nodded to Temari and the girl set about making the hand seals for the privacy jutsu she was about to cast.

"You know how to set up privacy seals?" Kakashi asked the blonde twin. The girl didn't answer instead she continued on with her task. Her hands glowed purple, the light running across the floors then up the walls and even the ceiling. There was a slight glimmer on the open window which indicated that it had been sealed as well.

"Now no one can hear us or even see that we're here!" Gaara exclaimed excitedly from his spot on the old leader's lap.

"Alright then, seeing as it's safe to talk now," Sarutobi began. "I wanted us to address the matter of you going to the academy."

"I thought the plan was to go back to the academy for a year, take the genin exam so that we could be an 'official' team and then continue from there?" Sasuke asked.

"That was my initial plan for you," Sarutobi agreed. "But there's a slight problem. This year, there are only two candidates for jounin sensei, Kakashi and Asuma. As I understand, you three want Kakashi as your team leader," the old man gestured to the Reapers. "Then that means I would need two more candidates for the Sabaku siblings and the tracker team that I want to group together. My son had already laid claim to the new generation Ino-Shika-Cho trio."

"So what do you plan on doing now?" Hinata asked.

"I want to make you three chunins," Sarutobi said. "That way, each of you could take a team but still be a team."

"What?"

"If you three are promoted to chunin, then you can train your own students while still being a complete team."

"Hokage-sama, are you sure about this?" Kakashi questioned as the implications of it dawned on him.

"Yes, I've actually made up my mind but I just wanted to tell you beforehand."

"Then this means that we'll all be in one whole group?" Kakashi once more asked.

"Yes, with Hinata as the team leader for Kiba, Shino and Sakura, you have a tracker team. Natsu's team would be her children and Sasuke will be rotating as a teacher for both teams. This way you have a strike force with the Sabaku siblings and then yourselves as the support."

"Is it possible for chunin to teach students?" Natsu asked. "Isn't it unconventional? Usually, chunin are team leaders as well as academy teachers but jounin are the one who take on teams."

"I know but it is a new system that I would like to try," Sarutobi replied. "During the year you were gone, my eyes have been opened to the current weakness of the village. I want to change that and I want to start with this group. Besides, four of you are already ANBU, in reality I am actually 'demoting' you three so that you can focus on _your_ plans."

"Arigatou hokage-sama," all three Reapers bowed respectively. Kakashi looked at the three in confusion but it seemed as if he wasn't the only one who was out of the loop. The three children were looking at the hokage in silent question as well.

"Although I need to ask in which form are you going to be staying in?"

"I think it's better if we stay in these forms, this way we would actually look like chunin and it wouldn't be too uncomfortable for the genin to have teachers as young as us," the raven replied.

"Wouldn't we need a cover story?" Hinata asked.

"The ninja council is comprised of mostly clan leaders and the new civilian council does not interfere with the ninja of the village. During the last meeting we had, we told the ninja council that it is a hokage's secret, it shall remain that way."

"Is that all you wanted to ask hokage-sama?"

"There is another matter I would like to discuss with you," Gaara squirmed at the old man's lap. It seemed to be serious. "Your children," he turned to Natsu. "Do you still want them to go to the academy? The exam is in three months, would the twins be able to keep up?"

"I wanna go!" Gaara exclaimed.

"They'd have no trouble keeping up with the students, besides I think it would be a good idea seeing as they would meet their future teammates." The pride in the blonde jinchuuriki's voice could be heard quite clearly.

"Very well, Kankuro shall stay under Sasuke's apprenticeship until the twins graduate. Bring this note to Iruka so that he accepts the twins," he handed Kakashi a small piece of paper.

"Let's go then, you two will start at the academy today," Natsu turned towards the two children she had been training with for the past year. She led the group out of the office, in the direction of the ninja academy.

"Kiba Inuzuka settle down!" a man shouted at a brown haired boy with a white puppy on his head. He wore the standard uniform for chunin and a headband that looked similar to a bandana with the way he wore it. He pinched the bridge of his nose in exhaustion, the scar scrunching up as he did.

"Ha serves you right mutt!" a platinum blonde with blue eyes, dressed in purple pointed haughtily at the young man. Before Iruka could scold her, there was a knock on the door. He slid it open and almost gaped in shock.

"Iruka-sensei," chocolate brown softened at the sight before him.

"Natsu-chan, you're back," he greeted, sliding the door close behind him.

"Hai, maybe we can catch up later?" blue eyes were hopeful as they look at the scarred man. "But for now, I have a note from jii-jii to enroll my kids in the academy."

"Your kids?"

"I know I have a lot to explain," Natsu admitted. "They're not mine biologically, I just sort've adopted them. I'll tell you later when we go out but for now they need to be in this class."

"Okay, come on then," he gestured to the twins who were standing on both sides of their mother. "Gaara and Temari?"

"Hai."

"Let's go inside, I'll introduce you to the class," Iruka slid open the door and walked inside waiting patiently for the twins to follow him. Gaara and Temari only stared at the man who was also looking at them.

"What's the matter?" Kakashi stepped up. "I thought you wanted to go to the academy?"

"I'm scared," Temari admitted.

"I'm not," Gaara snorted. "I'm stronger than them!" he shouted boisterously catching the attention of the whole class.

"Don't worry Mari-chan," Natsu kneeled down to face her blonde child. "Shika-kun is in this class, you know he'll protect you."

"Shika-kun is here?" Gaara bounced with excitement.

"Yes, so why don't you go inside?" Natsu said. "We'll pick you up later."

"Promise?"

"I promise." She kissed both children on the forehead and nudged them to go inside. Pulling the door close behind them, she turned back to her fiancé who was raising a sceptical brow.

"I thought you said Temari's mental age was catching up?"

"It's true but she doesn't have the confidence Gaara has, she needs to be boosted sometimes." They walked towards the others who were waiting patiently for them.

"So what do we do now?" Sasuke asked the pair.

"We could go eat, it's almost lunch time and..." Hinata suddenly trailed off clutching her abdomen as if in pain.

"Hinata?" Sasuke's voice was laced with worry as he caught his fiancée.

"Sa-su-ke..." Hinata muttered a disgruntled version of the raven's name and he quickly understood. He took her right hand and placed it on his left shoulder making sure it touched the mark there as he thought of soothing words. He picked the lavender eyed girl up, his hand brushing up against the mark on her nape.

"We have to go," Sasuke gave Kakashi a pointed look before disappearing in a flash of lightning.

"Have they...?" Natsu didn't continue her question.

"They started about a month and a half ago," Kakashi replied as he motioned for Kankuro to follow them out of the maze of hallways. "Sometimes, Hinata would have these episodes where Sasuke is the only one who can calm her down. Since, we didn't have the resident mating experts; they've had to continue on like this. We're not quite sure as to why the heat hasn't passed but I'm sure Kyuubi and Shukaku can answer the question after Sasuke and Hinata... work on the problem," he finished with a perverted smile.

"You know Kashi-kun, we don't have to wait for my time to come," Natsu said in a voice that was so sexy, Kakashi froze in mid step. "We could do it any time now since I've been declared an adult anyway. Remember what Kyuu-chan said? I wouldn't be releasing pheromones to most of the male populace if I've been marked and claimed before my heat arrives." She whispered against his ear. She kissed the corner of his masked lips, giggled lightly at the expression on her face and then turned her attention towards Kankuro.

"Kuro-kun why don't we go get ice cream then you can tell me all about your training," she skipped towards the boy that had not noticed they stopped. She took his hand and led the way to the shop leaving a shell-shocked copy nin in the middle of the street.

* * *

**AN: I'm soooooo sorry it took so long.. I haven't been getting a lot of reviews on the past chapters and it led me to lose my inspiration.. I write faster when I know that there are people who want to read my stories so please leave comments/reviews after you read it. If i get more than ten reviews on this chapter I will have the next one up tomorrow, two days at the latest. **

**Btw, I'll be changing the rating soon.. so stay in tune.  
**

**Love you all.. thanks for the faves.  
**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hello my dear readers! I have upped the rating due to some lime content. R&R please!**

* * *

***Lemon/Lime: Skip if you don't wanna read!*  
**

"Hinata?" Sasuke asked worriedly as he laid the hyperventilating woman on the bed. He knew it was time, he'd been putting it off too long and now it's hurting her more than before.

"'Suke please?" she begged curling up in pain as heat raced through her veins. "It hurts too much..." she whispered.

"I can't," Sasuke began to back away but another scream of pain had him running back to her. He couldn't understand why he was so scared to do this. It was for her own good so why couldn't he just...

"'Suke," tears began to fall as the lavender eyed woman called to her fiancé, her mate. "I _need _you." Lavender met black and the raven's resolve melted. He kissed her gently, his hands beginning to massage her body to relax her.

"Okay," he whispered his assent against her lips. "I'll make the pain go away," he sealed his promise with another kiss.

The sunlight streamed through the blinds casting a beautiful glow upon the sleeping forms. One was a male with raven hair and pale skin, the other a woman with blue-black hair. They lay on the bed sleeping peacefully, both bare bar the blanket that protected them from the cold drafts sneaking in through the window. They faced each other, the man had his arms wrapped around her, and she in turn had a hand to his face, their legs entangled in a mass of limbs.

Onyx fluttered open to gaze at an ethereal sight. His mate was still asleep, her hair splayed out behind her, her breathing even, her hand on his face still as she rested. The light peeking through the blinds gave the sleeping woman a certain glow that made her even more beautiful. He kissed her forehead, pulling her closer to him feeling life stir in his southern regions as it grazed against her core. He sighed wistfully, wondering what had been pulling him back from servicing his mate. He certainly wouldn't abstain again after what had happened only the night before.

_Hinata slowly relaxed in his arms as they kissed, his hands caressing her soft skin, tracing the smooth contours of her body. He kissed her neck, biting her pulse point, marking her as his. He could hear every groan, every mewl, every moan of desire that escaped her plump lips. _

"'_Suke," another whisper of pleasure as he massaged her breasts. He captured a rose bud in his mouth, pinching the other as he teased his mate. Squeezing her mounds earned him a louder moan. Slender fingers entangled in his dark locks, urging him to go further, to do what she needed him to do. His kisses trailed lower, his tongue teasing her toned stomach, dipping into her navel as his hands roamed south._

"_Hime," he said as he kissed her thighs, his fingers grazing at her nether lips._

"Ohayou Sasu-kun," Hinata's soft voice broke him from his heated thoughts. "I can only imagine what you were thinking about," she flashed him a seductive smile as she reached in between them to grasp at his erection. Onyx orbs closed as her fingers tightened around him, her thumb teasing his slit. Growling, he pushed her onto her back and captured her lips as he slid inside her. Moaning gutturally he set the pace, one that she matched and ensured that both would reach their completion together.

***End Lemon/Lime: You can read now!***

"I'm telling you Kashi-kun," Natsu said loudly as they walked towards training ground three. "They haven't done anything before I came home." She tried to convince her mate. "Hinata-nee wouldn't be in pain if he had actually mated with her beforehand."

"Then how do you explain why Hinata wasn't always in pain?"

"You and I both know there are so many ways to satisfy the urge without actually _doing_ it."

"You mean to tell me that Sasuke has only been... servicing her until they could satisfy the heat?"

"I think so," the blonde nodded as she stared ahead of them. They had dropped the twins off at the academy and were on their way to meet Neji's team so that Kankuro could practice with them. The fourteen-year old boy was walking ahead of them, his pace swift with excitement. "It would only work in the first few months. What happened three days ago to Hinata-nee is the result if the female isn't marked as soon as the heat started, and we can only be marked during the mating."

"Come to think of it, it's been six months since Hinata turned eleven," Kakashi said thoughtfully. "Kyuubi did say that you two would get your heat when you turn eleven."

"She also said that she wasn't exactly sure when," Natsu responded. "Even though our actual age is eleven, well I'm only ten but still, our bodies are now in our twenties. Like Kyuu-chan said, our heat comes when we reach our prime age which would be twenty-one physically."

"I'm still confused," Kakashi said.

"I know but all you have to remember is that I'm this person that you see before you," Natsu said as she backed him into an alley. She pulled his mask down and kissed him hungrily, the silver haired ninja responding quickly to her advances. She pulled away with another peck; pulled his mask up then left the dazed copy nin behind.

Kakashi could only stare at her as she left. Her blonde hair tied up into two ponytails trailing after her as she jogged to catch up to their eldest. Shaking his head at her aggressiveness he started to walk after her, his pace lazy. He watched as she took Kankuro's hand in hers as they walked.

"_She does look like she's twenty,"_ the twenty-five year old jounin mused. He watched the way her hips swayed as she walked gracefully. The dark blue tank top she wore was tight-fitting, accentuating her natural curves, the slightly loose shinobi pants she wore did nothing to hide the gentle swell of her hips, the lean legs that could wrap around his waist when he- _"Damn!"_he cursed angrily as he felt his ever-growing problem. His pants were too tight, almost painfully so and he knew he couldn't do anything about it.

"Hello Ten-chan," Kankuro greeted the weapons girl as he and his mother entered the training ground.

"Kuro-kun," the bun-haired twelve year old had a slight blush on her cheeks as she spoke.

"How are you on this youthful day Kankuro-kun?" Lee's booming voice came from across the clearing.

"Hey Lee!" he waved at the spandex wearing ninja. "So where's Gai-sensei?"

"He's at the Hyuuga compound, Neji's out of commission from chakra exhaustion and Hiashi-sama wanted to know what happened," Tenten relaxed as they continued to talk, apparently forgetting about the other woman who was there.

"Oh right," Kankuro said nervously after his mother coughed to get their attention. "Ten-chan, this is Natsu-kaa-chan, kaa-chan this is Ten-chan," his next words were lost to his mother as he looked down and mumbled.

"She's your what?" the blue eyed woman asked even though she didn't need to. She was fairly sure this girl was her son's girlfriend.

"She'smygirlfriend," he said too quickly for anyone to understand.

"What?"

"We're together Natsu-sama," Tenten answered for her flustered boyfriend. A blonde brow rose as a silent order to elaborate. "We've been together for almost four months."

"Kashi-kun, did you know your son has a girlfriend?" the blonde woman turned to her mate.

"I was waiting for him to tell me though I had my suspicions," the infamous copy nin replied as he ambled into the clearing. There was a green blur and then Lee stopped in front of the jounin.

"Kakashi-sama, you are my youthful sensei's youthful eternal rival," the bowl cut haired boy bowed respectfully. "Could you please train me so that I could surpass my youthful sensei?" Kakashi stared in shock at the boy.

"Sorry but I have my own team and I really think you should stick with Gai," he slowly inched away from Lee, closer to Natsu who was trying and failing to hide her snickers.

"Gai-sensei has never mentioned that you had a team," Lee said contemplatively. "Is it anyone I know? Are they strong? Can I be their eternal rival? Do their flames of youth shine brightly?"

"Kakashi!" another voice boomed from across them. "How are you on this youthful day?" an older clone of the boy in front of Kakashi walked towards them.

"Good morning Gai-sensei," Kankuro said.

"Huh? You say something, Gai?" Kakashi said as usual, turning to his "rival" with a look of confusion.

"Curse you and your hip attitude!" Natsu's snickers turned to full-blown laughter at her fiancé's reaction. "And who might you be beautiful flower?" her laughter stuttered to as stop as Gai took her hands in his and knelt in front of her. Kakashi growled angrily as he wrapped a possessive arm around his mate's waist.

"She's my fiancée Gai."

"I would expect nothing less from my rival!" Gai exclaimed, noting the protective glint in the lone onyx eye. There was flurry of lavender petals and then Sasuke and Hinata appeared in front of them. "Your flames of youth must burn brightly for you to have such a beautiful woman as your fiancée."

"Ohayou!" Hinata greeted cheerfully. She was positively glowing, her long dark hair pulled up into an intricate braid atop her head. She wore a long sleeved top that accentuated her ample bosom, tight-fitting pants that clung to her hips almost like a second skin. Sasuke wore standard shinobi pants and a dark blue shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back. Standing up to his full 6'3 height, he was a head taller than his mate.

"Hina-nee, can I see your mark?" Natsu ran excitedly towards the lavender eyed woman.

"Why not?"

"Let's go over there!" the blonde pulled her older sister away from the group. "Sasu-nii looks more handsome." She said.

"He does, doesn't he?" Hinata replied as she pulled down the shoulder of her shirt. There on the junction of her neck and shoulders was a dark blue Kyuubi and a lavender Gobi. Their tails were wrapped around the other's as they ran.

"It's beautiful!" Natsu ran a thumb against it, noting the way Hinata shivered lightly at the touch and her brother whip his head in their direction. "I'm guessing the connection has been established?" blue eyes turned inquisitive.

"Yeah, sometime after we mated we realized we could... communicate through the mark," Hinata replied.

"Do you even know how many days it's been?"

"I've lost track of time actually," the Hyuuga clan heiress replied.

"It's been three days." The deadpan expression on Natsu's face was so out of place. "Come to think of it, how did you know we were here?"

"Sasuke-kun homed in on your chakra signature."

"Hmm, well did you know that Kankuro had a girlfriend?" the blonde asked as they began to walk back to the others.

"Neji-nii told me that Tenten was seeing someone who used puppets."

"And there is only one puppet master in the village," Natsu said. There was a sudden blast of chakra from the academy.

"Gaara, Temari!" without waiting for anyone, Natsu disappeared in a yellow flash. The group followed her, and they shunshined to the training ground at the academy. Gai and Lee were left standing in the clearing, shrugging to each other they disappeared in a display of pure speed.

"Demon spawn shouldn't be allowed to live!" a white haired chunin had Temari hostage. He wore a chunin vest and his forehead protector was worn like a bandana. The slight blue hint of his hair glinted slightly against the flairs of chakra that signalled the arrival of an ANBU squad. The other academy students cowered in fear at the situation.

"Mizuki!" Iruka shouted. "Unhand Temari now, she hasn't done any harm."

"The hell she didn't," green eyes narrowed angrily at the brown-haired chunin. "Her mere existence harms everyone in this village. That other one next to you will suffer the same fate as she does after I'm done with her." he pulled the blonde hair back, his kunai reflecting the sun's rays.

"Teme!" crystal blue eyes glared angrily at him. "Let go of my daughter!"

"And so the _mother _arrives," Mizuki mocked. "You're the reason why he's gone! You did it!"

"What are you talking about?" lavender eyes fluttered close in confusion.

"Tsubasa-kun was sent to prison because of you!" jade eyes flashed angrily at the newcomers. Sasuke, Hinata and Natsu were taken aback by the accusation.

"I don't know~" Natsu's denial was cut short as the white-haired man traced his kunai against the blonde girl's neck. Growls answered his daring move.

"Kaa-chan," Gaara's voice was dark and dangerous as he stood with Shikamaru next to Iruka. His chakra floated freely in the air, the particles of sand vibrating with his emotions.

"Temari!" Kankuro shouted as he and Tenten emerged from a puppet's stomach.

"Kankuro, it's about time you got here," the pineapple haired genin's usual lazy demeanor was gone. His stance was solid as he prepared for an attack.

"Shino?" Kankuro asked.

"I'm ready," the usually silent boy was buzzing. Mizuki turned in shock behind him at the sound of the bug ninja's voice, losing his firm grip on Temari as he did.

"Let's go Tenten!" all the genin moved at Kankuro's order.

Tenten flung multiple kunai at the shocked chunin as Shino raised his arms to attack the distracted man with his hive. Shikamaru's shadow ran swiftly across the ground as Gaara's sand safely got his sister from her captor's arms. Kankuro ran to Mizuki's right side, Shikamaru in front with Shino behind and Tenten on his left. Crow was already out of his wrappings, Tenten ready with more kunai, Shino's hive already surrounding the man as Shikamaru's shadow connected with Mizuki's. Gaara was busy trying to calm his weeping blonde twin.

"Shadow possession: success!" Shikamaru announced as he crouched in front of their captive.

"You will pay for taking him away from me!" Mizuki shouted as he flared his chakra successfully breaking free from Shikamaru's hold and killing most of Shino's bugs. Within a minute, the genin were down. "Did you think you could defeat me? I'm a chunin and you are mere genin!" he gloated, forgetting about the other ninja in the field as he focused on the fallen children. "Earth style: Earth dragon bullet!"

"Raikiri!" Kakashi's lightning encased hand easily broke through the earth based attack.

"Water style: water dragon!" Hinata shouted as she made the handsigns.

"Chidori blade!" a stream of lightning hit the water dragon as it made its way towards the chunin. Mizuki, totally unprepared for the adults' assault, took the full brunt of the tandem attack.

"Hebi!" Natsu called to the ANBU hidden in the shadows. "You may have your way with him."

"Hai Natsu-sama!"

"You might have to wait for him to stop shaking before you touch him," Natsu said. "On the other hand I could just... wind gale palm!" Natsu aimed at the fallen chunin. He flew across the village at the amount of chakra focused on the attack. "I think Ibiki-kun will get to him first if you don't hurry Hebi-chan," Natsu said.

"Of course he will," a cat-masked ANBU snorted. "You just delivered the moron to the T&I building."

"Well it's better than getting electrocuted yourselves isn't it?" their cheeky banter was broken by Kakashi's worried voice.

"Temari-chan are you alright?" the copy nin walked towards Gaara who had Temari in his embrace. Shikamaru, Tenten, Shino and Kankuro were already there.

"Tou-chan!" the sobbing girl launched herself at the silver-haired ninja. "H-h-h-e s-s-s-said t-t-that h-h-h-e," she hiccupped.

"Don't worry about him," Kakashi assured the girl. "I promise he won't hurt you again." He looked straight into teal eyes.

"Promise?"

"Of course," Kakashi said. "Besides I'm sure I'm not the only one who'll protect you if you need it."

"Okay."

"Now go to sleep," the copy nin was surprisingly gentle with the way he handled the blonde. "We'll take care of everything here." He kissed her forehead, watching as her eyes fluttered close in exhaustion. Looking back at the genin, he saw Hinata already tending to their injuries while Natsu spoke to Gaara.

"Gaara-kun, what happened?"

"Kaa-chan, I'm sorry," the redhead bowed his head. "I was careless. I knew something was up with Mizuki-teme but I didn't say anything because I thought we could handle it."

"What's done is done, now tell me what happened. How did he get to Temari?"

"It was recess and Temari and I were with Shikamaru and Shino," Gaara relayed. "We were quietly eating under that tree," he said as he pointed at said object. "When Mizuki-teme called Temari. He said he needed to talk to her about something. I was curious but Temari told me to stay where I was so I did..." the ten year old broke down in a fit of sobs much like his female counterpart mere minutes ago. "It was my fault that Temari was hurt. I didn't accompany her when I should have. I'm an awful brother!"

"Gaara-kun," Natsu pulled the teal eyed boy into her arms. "It's not your fault. At least Temari is safe now and that's because you worked together with the other students to save her."

"But if I had only~"

"Gaara, this is something you have to remember," crystal blue looked sternly at teal, effectively stopping all protest. "In our line of work we cannot have regrets. We need to push past them. I'm not saying you wouldn't make decisions that you will regret later on but I'm telling you to move on. Learn from your mistakes and do not let them rule your life. It could lead to your downfall. Some decisions will be difficult to make but you have to understand that you can only do the best you can given a certain situation. Look back on the fight, think on how you could've been better and learn from it but never regret a decision if you can."

"Hai kaa-chan," determination was clear in the teal pools as he answered his mother.

"Good, now take your sister home," Natsu ordered. "Your father and I have to speak to Iruka-sensei."

"Tou-chan?"

"Gaara-kun," Kakashi knelt down to Gaara's height, looking him straight in the eye as he spoke. "You did well today. Listen to what your mother told you. It could help you in the future."

"Hai, tou-chan," Gaara said as his father gave him his sister.

"Take care of your sister while we take care of the things here," Gaara nodded and disappeared in a flurry of sand.

"How have you and Anko-nee been Iruka-nii?" Natsu asked the scarred chunin as they walked to Ichiraku's ramen stand.

"We're alright," Iruka said. "She finally moved in with me after a lot of arguments."

"That's great so you are living together in your apartment then?"

"Uh-huh," Iruka nodded. "What about you Natsu?"

"The kids and I live with Kakashi," the blonde fox girl glanced discreetly behind them to look at Kakashi who was walking with Sasuke and Hinata. "We just came back but it feels like nothing has changed except we've grown stronger."

"I think so too," the brown haired man replied. "Before you left a year ago, you've already stayed with Kakashi haven't you?"

"Actually, after the council meeting I brought the kids to his apartment."

"And that raises another question," Iruka turned to face the blue eyed girl.

"If you're going to ask whether we have done it yet, then no we haven't."

"That's good to know," Iruka smiled at the younger girl he considers to be his sister. "But I wanted to know how come the Sand trio call you their mother."

"Oh," Natsu blushed after realizing that she had just revealed something that wasn't even being asked. "They call me kaa-chan because they see me as their mother. When I first met them on a mission with Itachi-niisan, Gaara and Temari had been facing assassins daily. Kankuro told us the story and I could relate to them so I became the parental figure they badly needed. Back then, the transformations that Kyuu-chan made was only starting but I couldn't help but feel maternal over them."

"I understand," Iruka said as they took seats around a table. "It's like how I got together with Anko."

"The ramen stand has gotten larger," Natsu commented as Kakashi slid in next to her. Sasuke and Hinata sat across them next to Iruka.

"We've been hanging out here every day since you left." Sasuke admitted.

"So Iruka-nii, tell me about your students," Natsu once again turned her attention to the chunin academy instructor.

"Well, this year I have the heirs and heiresses of the major clans. I suspect I would've had you three in my class as well if you hadn't already been 'promoted'," he said looking at the Reapers. "Shikamaru is like any other Nara, lazy but extremely intelligent. I've noticed that he keeps his scores high enough so that he could team up with Chouji. Chouji is just like his father, his attention can be so easily swayed with food but he's a good student nonetheless. Ino is the Yamanaka clan heiress. She is incredibly vain and cares more about her looks than her ninja training. She has a friend/rival in Sakura Haruno, yes she's Yakiko Haruno's daughter. They both swore that they would become the most beautiful kunoichi so that they can help Sasuke revive his clan." Iruka laughed softly as Sasuke paled at the idea while his mate growled possessively. "Personally I think Ino only does it to boost Sakura's confidence. In my opinion, she's much better off leaving Sakura alone. Besides, I think Chouji likes her."

"Sakura Haruno," Natsu said. "She has pink hair, green eyes and a large forehead?"

"That's her," Iruka nodded in affirmation.

"I think I saw her lurking around after you dismissed the class. She was tailing us and was drooling over Sasu-nii," Natsu laughed as a waitress came to take their order.

"I'm sorry about the delay but we're a bit full today," the brown haired woman wearing a dress with a white apron and a bandana apologized.

"No problem Ayame-chan!" Natsu said as she leaned her head on Kakashi's shoulder. "We have time anyway."

"Natsu, you're back?" Ayame asked. "Since when?"

"A few days ago. I haven't really had the time to visit anyone," Natsu admitted. "I've been getting used to being back in the village."

"Well, you need to come more often," Ayame said as she listed everyone's orders. "So much has changed."

"Don't worry Ayame-chan, I'll come by from time to time," Natsu said and the girl nodded.

"Iruka-nii, how old is Shikamaru?" Hinata asked, speaking for the first time since they arrived at the stand.

"He recently turned twelve, why?"

"I think he likes Temari," Hinata replied.

"I know Temari likes him," the blonde said. "I'm still not sure how they met but he was all she could talk about when we were away."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes and anyway, I like Shikamaru."

"No." Kakashi's voice was stern. "They're too young."

"We're not saying it's gonna happen now," Natsu was quick to run damage control while the trio across them smirked at the protectiveness the silver haired man showed. "It's just a possibility."

"Still, I won't allow it!"

"Kakashi, calm down." This time Natsu's voice dropped the temperature several degrees. "If I let you have your way, Temari will grow too old before you let her have a boyfriend."

"She's only ten!" Kakashi protested.

"I don't care!" Natsu replied. "I'm not so different from her."

"You're a special case."

"We'll talk about this later," Kakashi was about to protest but Ayame arrived with their food effectively cutting off their argument. Sasuke, Hinata and Iruka snickered at the way the petite blonde handled the twenty-five year old man. "You two," Natsu pointed her chopsticks at her brother and sister. "We're not done talking. I need to know what happened with Hinata-nee's heat." The new lovers blushed beet red as Iruka laughed heartily.

Things would be more interesting from here on out.

* * *

**AN: Waaaah! I'm sorry it took so long! School has just started and I really don't have time to write anymore. I'm so sorry but please leave me comments.  
**

**Love you all!  
**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hello everyone! I'm back, I'm sorry for the long wait but here's the next chappy of the HatakeNamikaze Bloodline. **

**And so let's begin.  
**

* * *

"Kashi-kun, I need to stop by the apartment," Natsu told her fiancée as they walked home.

"We_ are _going to the apartment," Kakashi said in reply.

"No I mean mine and Sasu-nii's," the petite blonde said in reply. "I need more clothes and I don't have time to do laundry right now."

"Oh." Kakashi was silent as he contemplated how to answer. "I guess we could, besides didn't you say you had to talk to Sasuke and Hinata about how her heat had gone?"

"Thanks for reminding me," Natsu shot him a grateful look. "I completely forgot about that."

"Natsu..." the uncertainty in his voice made Natsu freeze; slowly she turned round to face the man who had stopped in his tracks. The silver-haired jounin was staring at the ground, watching the specks of dust with interest.

"Yes?"

"Would you... could you... maybe..." onyx met crystal blue and Kakashi took a deep breath before saying, "Doyouwanttomoveinwithme?"

"I'm sorry?"

"."

"Kakashi, calm down," Natsu stepped closer towards the man. "Now, tell me what you were saying, slowly," she instructed.

"Would you like to move in with me?" Kakashi finally said.

"Kakashi?"

"I mean, it's essentially the same," the twenty-five year old man said. "You and the kids have been living with me and so of course, it should be rational that I actually ask that you move in with me officially. Besides, now that Sasuke and Hinata are mated they need a place of their own and since, it would be awkward for them to stay at the Hyuuga compound it's only logical for them to stay at the apartment and I'm sure that you wouldn't want to be there when they~" his words were lost as Natsu deepened the kiss. His train of thought quickly froze as he dominated the passionate lip-lock his mate had started. Soon he had her against the wall as they continued to get lost in the feeling of their lips upon the other's.

"Yes," was the only word Natsu said after they pulled apart. "Yes, I'd move in with you."

"R-really?"

"Of course," Natsu's ocean blue eyes shone brightly as she replied. "Even though you were babbling, I heard you saying that it was essentially the same now as the kids and I actually live with you. The only difference is that I still have my things in Sasu-nii's apartment."

"Finally!" someone exclaimed from behind the masked Copy Nin.

"Ohayou Sasu-nii, Hina-nee," Natsu greeted the couple as she broke away from the intimate embrace.

"Ohayou imoutou," Sasuke replied. "Is what I heard true? Is it official now?"

"Well I just agreed but I guess so," Natsu said smiling brilliantly at them.

"Okay, so we can finally move my things?" Hinata said.

"How long have you two been planning about this?" suspicious blue eyes narrowed at the pair.

"Ne, Natsu-chan," Kakashi said. "Didn't you say you had to talk to them about the heat?"

"Thanks Kashi-kun," Natsu said. "Sasu-nii, can I speak to you about it? Kashi-kun could help Hina-nee move her things."

"Of course," Kakashi replied. "I'll see you at home then?"

"See you later Kashi-kun," the blonde said as he pecked the older man on his already masked lips. He grabbed Sasuke by the hand and they left in a swirl of blue fire.

"I guess we could get started," Hinata sighed at the sudden disappearance of the siblings.

"Let's go Hinata," the silver haired Copy Nin told the heiress.

"I need you to tell me what that mark on Hina-nee's neck was," crystal blue was scrutinizing as the petite girl stared at her older brother. They were at the hokage monument, standing atop the Fourth Hokage's head.

"It was her mating mark," Sasuke replied, refusing to look the Kyuubi-container in the eyes.

"It wasn't her mating mark. I'm talking about the mark on her neck and yours, the one that you used to calm her down when we brought the twins to the academy."

"It was~"

"Don't lie to me," Natsu's voice was hard as she reprimanded her older brother. "It wasn't your mating mark because you haven't mated with her before so what was it?"

"Remember when Kyuu-chan told you to tell me to search my memories?"

"Of course," the blonde replied as she sat down on the spiked hair of the Fourth. "What about it?"

"I found something..."

"What was it?"

"It was a kind of contraceptive mark," Sasuke said. "It was also one that had the power to delay the heat."

"YOU DID WHAT?"

"I put a mark on Hina-chan that would delay her heat and act as a contraceptive," the dark haired lone Uchiha mumbled.

"Do you even know what you did? How stupid! Why did you do that? Do you know what you could have done to her? Did you even tell her what you were going to do before you did it?"

"What was so bad about it? I just delayed her heat for a few months," the Uchiha clan massacre survivor retorted.

"There was a reason why Kyuu-chan told you and Kashi-kun about our heats. It was supposed to inform you that~" she trailed off. Her face was frozen in a mask that frightened Sasuke; he had never seen such a terrified expression on her face even in the face of death. "Kuchiyose no jutsu: Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

"Natsu..."

"Kyuu-chan, do you think something could've already happened?" Natsu's voice was graved as she asked the age-old woman.

"It's not really..."

"Don't sugar coat anything please," Natsu begged the redheaded fox woman. "I need to know what's going to happen to Hinata-nee."

"There's a chance that it has already happened since it took him how long to actually do his job," Kyuubi said in reply.

"Sasu-nii, how long has Hina-nee been experiencing her heat before you actually mated?"

"Her time started two months and a half after her eleventh birthday."

"And it's been six months since then so that makes it almost four months of agony." Kyuubi counted.

"How much damage would that have done to her?" the small blonde turned her attention back to the older woman.

"I can't be sure but I do know is that it did something."

"Kyuu-chan I **need** to know."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke interrupted. "Why should there have been agony? Are you telling me that Hina-chan was in pain all this time?"

"Sasu-nii, I'll tell you later. Right now, I need to know something."

"Natsu," Kyuubi called to the child/woman who was her container. "Don't worry too much about it."

"How can you tell me not to worry? She could've~"

"No Natsu, you have to calm down," the woman was gentle as she took the blonde in her arms. "Hinata has wolf blood in her, and since she mated with Sasuke who has fox blood in him I know she'll be alright. I'll be able to look at her now that they've been mated."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Now just calm down, I need to do more research on this and then I'll tell you if I find anything." A look at crystal blue eyes threatening to overflow with tears showed Kyuubi that the woman-girl was not convinced. "I promise."

"Okay," Natsu nodded grudgingly. "I just don't want anything to happen to her."

"I know but you also need to trust me on this," the redheaded woman replied.

"I trust you."

"So now, tell Sasuke everything while I start on my research on this."

"Arigatou, kaa-chan."

"No problem kit," the smile was gentle as she let go of the one she claims as her own. "Now go talk to your brother." She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Natsu what's going on?" onyx was desperate as they clashed with cerulean. "What did I do?" sighing loudly, the blonde wiped her tears away and walked towards the raven.

"Sasuke-kun, I won't lie to you. You may have just endangered Hinata-chan's life with what you did." Terror was the only thing that could describe how Sasuke looked like at that moment.

"What?"

"Kyuu-chan told you that when we get our heat, it's a sign that we are ready to take our mates and since we had already chosen our mates it would only be a sign that we were ready to have children. It still didn't change the fact that we had to be marked and claimed by our mate by the time our heat arrives or we could be claimed by others. It's a natural instinct and it shouldn't have been messed with." Natsu took a deep breath. "Delaying the heat could've done damage on Hinata-nee's reproductive organs~"

"But why?"

"As I said, the heat is a sign when a female is ready to have her litter. Basically, the body is ready to bear children. Delaying it would mean stopping the developments of her body which causes extreme pain."

"You mean I caused her the pain she would feel?"

"The pain Hinata-nee used to feel was because her body was trying to force itself to work against the barriers that you placed on her with your seal."

"I-I-I didn't know," Sasuke dropped his head onto his hands as he shook with the sobs that racked his body.

"Sasu-nii," Natsu gathered the weeping man in her arms and comforted him as best as she could because she knew that there was nothing she could say that would make things better. "Go to her, tell her everything and I promise you that Kyuu-chan and I will do all that we can to prevent whatever is going to happen to her from happening. Just promise me that you won't balk when you need to do your job again."

"H-h-how could I e-e-even face her?"

"She'll understand," Natsu assured him. "I know she will and I also know that she would be the one comforting you after you tell her."

"W-w-what could've already happened to her?"

"She could've died or lost her ability to bear children."

"I-I-I c-c-c-can't..."

"You have to," she told him.

"B-b-b-but~"

"Aniki, you have to do this. She has to know what this may have done to her."

"W-w-why can't **you **tell her?"

"I'm not the one to do this and it's so much better if she finds out from you herself."

"Natsu, how can I even look at her?"

"Sasuke," a deep, rumbling voice called out to the raven. They turned towards the nearby forest as a man dressed in a black cloak and wearing a large straw hat stepped out from the foliage. "I think it's best if you talk to Hinata." There was no mistaking that voice.

"B-b-b-but..."

"I always told you to think things through otherwise suffer the consequences." The man cut him off. "Now go to your mate, explain to her what happened and then wait for her to adjust to the news. I'm sure that if the Kyuubi no Kitsune herself is involved nothing will happen to her." Sasuke could only sigh in defeat and he disappeared in a bolt of golden lightning.

"What took you so long?" Natsu addressed the man as soon as Sasuke was gone.

"I had some things to take care of," the man said as he pulled his hood down to reveal long, inky locks that were tied loosely at the bottom, a pale but handsome face drawn with stress and dark eyes that reflected the happiness the man felt. "I've heard some interesting rumours around." He said as he walked to the small blonde woman.

"And what would those rumours be?"

"I'm sure it's nothing," the man dismissed with a lazy wave of hand. "I heard that you've adopted three children and are now living with the famous, or infamous, Copy Nin." The scrutinizing stare Natsu received made her blush.

"It's true," she mumbled shyly. "You remember the Sand Trio that we used to protect back in Suna?" she asked and received a nod in response. "They were picked up by Kakashi on his way home from a mission almost two years ago. I took them in and Kakashi became their pseudo-father."

"So you are living with him?"

"That's what you got from that?"

"Well I've known that eventually you will become their mother given the way they acted with you around so it's not that big of a deal. Kakashi, on the other hand, is another story."

"Aniki, Kakashi was my mate. I've known that he was mine even before he started protecting me," she argued. "Besides, I was already betrothed to him and I only revealed to him that I knew about our engagement around the same time the kids got here."

"He better not hurt you, otherwise I shall not be held responsible for my actions," he muttered in defeat.

"I missed you Ita-kun," she embraced the older man and relished in the feel of him in her arms. "So how goes the recruitment?"

"More than half of Akatsuki are with me now," he said. "The only ones who aren't are Pein, Konan and Zetsu."

"So you have Sasori, Deidara, Kisame, Kakuzu and Hidan with you?"

"Yes," Itachi said. "They agreed to join me on the account that their missing-nin status will be wiped off the bingo books. I promised them clean slates just as you said."

"Thanks aniki."

"What about the other aspects of our plans?" the raven asked the blonde.

"They're going well," Natsu said. "You should be getting ready because it shall start soon."

"Then I should~" there was a swirl of sand and then twin voices shouted out, "Kaa-chan!" Itachi was quick to separate himself from the smaller woman as two projectiles flew out from the tornado of sand.

"Ohayou kaa-chan!" Gaara embraced his mother, Temari doing the same on the other side.

"Ohayou!"

"Who's he?" Teal hardened at the sight of an unknown man, the smaller blonde's voice promising pain to whomever had been with their mother. Itachi stared back amused at the reaction he was getting from the girl.

"He's Itachi-jii," Natsu informed.

"Oh, _he's_ Sasu-jii's aniki?" Gaara asked as he too turned to look at the older raven. Teal met onyx and time seemed to slow down. There was nothing else but them; Gaara felt an instant connection to the dark-haired man standing a little away from them. Itachi smiled at the redhead, causing Gaara to blush when the handsome man's lips broke into a gentle smile that showed him just how much the older knew about the redhead.

Natsu stared at the pair, perplexed at her youngest son's reaction to Itachi. Their gazes were locked and they had been staring at each other for a few moments when Gaara blushed. Slowly the red tint spread across his cheeks until his face seemed to have an overflow of blood in them. She smiled because she hadn't known; she had almost given up on Gaara ever finding someone who could fix his almost broken mentality. If only she knew, she'd have introduced them much earlier.

"Natsu?" blue turned to look at the silver haired man who had called out to her.

"Kashi-kun?"

"Why is he here?" the Copy Nin was tense as he glared at the missing-nin. He didn't move, he was waiting for the explanation as to why there was a missing ninja in the village and his fiancée seemed to be on good terms with him.

"Kashi-kun, he means no harm," Natsu said.

"He's a missing-nin," Kakashi replied.

"Are you sure?" Natsu was sceptical as she asked. "Did you even ask Jii-jii about him? Or did you just get to that conclusion by yourself?"

"Natsu, I'm tired of this," Kakashi said. "All the secrets you seem to think I shouldn't know, I need to know. I really need to know more about you. I _**want**_ to know more..."

"Alright, I'll tell you everything." Natsu sighed. "Aniki, will you take care of the twins?" she turned her attention back to the three.

"Kaa-chan," Temari's small voice caught her attention. "I'm gonna go see Shika-kun."

"Alright, be home before eight."

"That's too late," Kakashi cut in. "Be home by seven or I start looking."

"Go Mari-chan, before your father decides to forbid you from going at all."

"I'll see you at home kaa-chan, tou-chan," she said then disappeared in a miniature typhoon.

"Natsu," Kakashi growled angrily.

"Ne aniki, take care of Gaara will you?" Natsu said as she put a restraining hand on Kakashi's arm.

"Sure," the older raven said, not taking his eyes away from the redhead.

"Remember aniki, he's only ten," Natsu teased as she, along with Kakashi, disappeared in a bright flash of yellow. They may have disappeared, but the slight tint that ran across Itachi's face was not lost to the couple.

The pair appeared in a clearing somewhere inside the forests within Konoha. The dying embers of the sun painted the lake a brilliant orange glow, the lights dancing across the surface of the crystal blue waters. Natsu got lost in the beauty of her 'special spot' as she looked around. It had not lost its charm given how long it had been since she had been there.

Kakashi didn't know what to say, he had never been to this part of Konoha and he had once thought that he had been everywhere in the village but once again, Natsu had proved him wrong. He didn't even know that there was such a place within the village walls and yet here he was, standing in the middle of such ethereal beauty that he had not expected to discover. He glanced at his mate, her blonde hair glowing slightly with the dying light reflecting against the sunny locks. _"She's so beautiful. I still can't believe she's actually mine. How did it even happen?" _ he lost himself in his thoughts as he continued to stare at the petite girl who was his fiancée.

"Kashi-kun?" Natsu's soft voice pulled him back into reality. She held her hand out to him. "The water looks lovely, swim with me?"Kakashi didn't know what to say. She had already taken most of her clothes off, leaving her in her dark blue lingerie. He nodded dumbly, unable to prevent his eyes from roaming over her almost bare body. "Kakashi, are you alright?"

"Huh... yeah... I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course," Kakashi nodded, coherently this time. "Go in without me, I'll be with you soon."

"Okay." Natsu ran to the edge of the lake and dived right in, Kakashi's eyes following every move she made. He couldn't look away as the muscles in her legs bunched up as she prepared to jump in. He stared as she surfaced, her long blonde hair a curtain in front of her face, the water dripping down. Her appearance woke a primal desire within him, the raging instincts he had been pulling back for so long broke free at the sight and he knew that the day wouldn't end without him claiming his mate. "Kakashi, come on!" she waved happily at him.

"I'm coming," his smile was bright yet slightly feral, the glint in his twin onyx orbs made a shiver run down her spine. Natsu knew that she had pushed her mate a tad too much. She knew that it was time and she was afraid, no not afraid, she was nervous but excited at the same time. So lost was she in her thoughts, she didn't notice the jounin walking towards the bank until he had broken the surface with his dive.

She was suddenly pulled under, her arms flailing in an attempt to rise above the waters. Eyes as blue as the lake widened when Kakashi was suddenly in front of her with his own onyx pools glinting with desire; he kissed her, slowly, tenderly as he kicked until they were above the surface. Pulling back as air became essential to their burning lungs, Natsu shivered at his tone as he said, "Natsu, I want you." He whispered against her ear accompanied with a slight nibble at her earlobe and she knew she would cave.

"Take me, Kashi," she said, her words flooding him with lust until he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself. He carried her to the bank as they melded their lips together in a sweet kiss. They were lost in their own world, unaware of nothing else around them as they moved as one in a passionate dance that would tie them together as one, forevermore.

* * *

**AN: Okay, so I'm really 10x sorry for the suuuuuper long wait but I hope you all liked it. I will slowly, very slowly torture you with small parts of it until I get more reviews.. Hahaha**

**Just kidding, though I'm serious about the reviews. The more I get, the faster I write. I will make time because things have cooled down so help me guys, just comment or anything...  
**

**Love you all..  
**

**Allie  
**


	13. Chapter 12

**AN: I'm back! Sorry it took so long but here it is anyway. I own nothing!**

* * *

Twin onyx orbs stared lovingly at a heart-shaped face; the gentle smile that followed was unhidden by the usual mask. The gaze roamed over the bare body, nothing was hidden from his sight. Their night had been wonderful, their union that much sweeter as it proved their love for each other. He was her first, and she was his and it made it that much more beautiful. He'd enjoyed discovering her as she did and he knew that there was still more to come.

Crystal blue fluttered open from a somewhat restful sleep feeling the gaze upon her, her lips stretched into a smile as she turned to her mate. Black and blue clashed, the owners reading the other's minds. Slowly, their heads moved closer, their eye contact never breaking, as their lips touched. Her breath hitched when he sucked on her lower lip, the action reminding her of the previous night. She cupped his face and moved to straddle him as she kissed him harder, so much more demanding.

"Ohayou Kashi-kun," she whispered into his ear, her voice sultry with her desire.

"Ohayou Natsu-chan," he responded in kind as he dominated their passionate dance. He flipped them over so that he was on top, kissing her as he did so. She smiled lovingly up at him, cerulean orbs shining with passion. "Are you ready?" he asked even as he slid into her, her tight canal taking all he had to give. Her mouth fell open in a silent scream of pleasure, eyes closed tight as he moved within her. They moved in sync, the coils tightening, their fingers laced together as they danced to a tune that only they could hear.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Itachi-kun," Sarutobi addressed the young man currently sitting in his office. "I think it's time we put you back in the ranks."

"Ne Ita-kun, when are you gonna tell me about the whole thingy?" Gaara's innocent question interrupted the old leader.

"You don't need to know about it Gaara-kun," Itachi told the redhead, his eyes shining every so subtly as he answered.

"But it's not fun not being told," teal eyes stared pleadingly at Itachi's black pools, the redheads lips scrunched into an adorable pout.

"Maybe," the older man's answer was still not promising anything. Sarutobi chuckled at their interaction, reminding both boys that they were not alone.

"As I was saying," the Third Hokage said once again. "I think it's time we reinstate you Itachi. You've done whatever it was to be done and we really do need to clear your name. So many people, especially my ninja, think you did what you did out of spite and in cold blood."

"Let them think what they want," Itachi was slightly defensive as he replied. "I did what I had to do to protect the village." Gaara, noting the anger in the older man's voice laid a reassuring hand over Itachi's clenched ones.

"I'm sure you did Tachi-kun," teal eyes reflected sympathy for what he was feeling. "Sometimes, there are people who will hate you for things you have no control over." Onyx clashed with teal and they smiled softly at each other.

"Hokage-sama," Itachi turned his attention back to their leader. "I will have to speak to Natsu before I can answer you. I, myself, would like to be reinstated and for my name to be cleared but everything will depend upon Natsu's decision. She might still have some things for me to do."

"Very well," Sarutobi said. "We shall wait for her return before we decide on anything."

"You still don't know where kaa-chan and tou-chan went?" Gaara asked his 'grandfather'.

"No," Sarutobi sighed. "I've had ninjas looking all over Konoha and they still can't find them."

"They're not looking," Gaara replied. "If they really wanted to find tou-chan and kaa-chan, they would have by now. They can't see my parents because they don't really want to find them."

"Gaara, do you know where they are?"

"Of course I do," the redhead replied. "But I won't tell you. They haven't had time for themselves since we came back."

"But I need them here Gaara," Sarutobi tried to reason.

"You don't need them jii-jii," Gaara insisted. "You've not had them for a week and still the village is up and running. Besides, they'll come back."

"But..."

"Bye jii-jii," the redhead said as he held Itachi's hand. "I have to go see Kuro-nii and Mari-nee now." He disappeared in a flurry of sand, taking Itachi with him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Gaara!"

"Hai," the redhead said. "Sand Style: Sand dome!"

"Kankuro!"

"I can't, there's too much blockage, and I can't see anything!"

"Wind gale palm!" a girl with her blonde hair up in four ponytails shouted. "You really need to work on your ninjutsu Kuro-nii."

"Hai, hai, I know."

"Just finish the job guys."

"I did." Gaara said in reply. "Couldn't you just use Karasu Kankuro-niichan?"

"I don't want to!"

"Well, I can't hold it!"

"If that damn thing escapes again I swear I will~" the rant was cut off by Kankuro.

"Fine, fine," he conceded grudgingly. "Let's just take it back to the tower." He said as he used Karasu to take hold of the mass of sand that Gaara was holding. Walking slowly behind them, a blonde haired woman with crystal blue eyes and whisker marks on her cheeks shook her head as she watched them.

"Jii-jii, we're back!" Gaara shouted as soon as they entered the hokage's office.

"What mission were you on Gaara-chan?" a silver-haired man wearing a mask asked.

"We had to catch the fur ball again." The pout on the young boy's face made everyone else in the room chuckle.

"Ha! Serves you right sandman!" a gruff young boy with a white puppy said as they entered the room.

"Shut up dog breath!" the retort was accompanied by a glare. "No one asked you."

"Kiba-san, I think it's best we not start a fight." Another boy wearing a large coat and sunglasses said stoically.

"Shino, you're always like that."

"Shino-kun," Natsu called out to the glasses-wearing boy. "Where are your sensei and Sakura?"

"Sasuke-kun just one date, please?" the shrill voice of the bubblegum haired girl interrupted the answer. Kiba, Temari, Gaara and Natsu plugged up their noses at the strong scent that was attached to her.

"Sakura, you're my student, I can't and will never date you." The raven-haired man's eyes were flickering from black to red.

"But why?" the lavender-eyed heiress that followed could only sigh at the girl's persistence.

"It's unethical for sensei's to be with their students, besides I already have a wife."

"You do?"

"Yes and she's your other sensei."

"Hinata-sensei is your wife?" tears threatened to spill from jade pools at the mention of her well-endowed and beautiful sensei. _"How could I compete with that?"_

"Ne, Sakura-chan," Hinata was gentle even as her patience was slowly dwindling down to nothing. "I'm sure you'll find someone to love someday. It's just not Sasuke-kun."

"But kaa-chan said that I was destined to be the Uchiha matriarch," she sobbed. "She said that Sasuke-kun is only in denial and that he will eventually fall for me."

Sarutobi shook his head at the mention of the spiteful councilwoman. He just knew that she said some things to the young girl about the clans.

"Tora-chan!" a large woman, who stank of expensive perfume, exclaimed as soon as she entered and saw her beloved cat struggling to escape the confines of a puppet. "Let my baby go!"

"I am sorry," Sarutobi said before she could reprimand Kankuro. "It was terribly difficult to keep Tora-chan here and so I asked that he be held while we waited for you."

"Very well hokage-sama," she said as she slapped a handful of money on the table. "Could you please release him so I could go on my way?" the ninjas could only shake their head at the woman's attitude.

"Jii-jii, could we have another mission?" Gaara asked as soon as the daimyo's wife had left.

"You have already finished your quota of missions for the next two months but if you want, you could weed Hitsugaya-san's garden or help with the construction of ~"

"Jii-jii, couldn't we have a higher-ranked mission?" Temari was the one to ask. "We've been doing these chores for the past month and it's gotten really boring."

"That would depend on your sensei," their leader turned his attention towards the blonde-haired woman who was sitting on the window sill, her attention on the village.

"C rank," she sighed.

"Sasuke-sensei, could we have a C rank too?" Kiba asked eagerly, ignoring the indignant expression on Sakura's face at the interruption. Sasuke turned his attention to the woman he loved and she nodded in reply.

"Hokage-sama," he said formally. "Team eight would like to request a C rank mission."

"We could just make this collaboration," Sarutobi decided. "But you will need your supervisor to be present."

"What is the mission?"

"You are to protect a bridge builder from the Land of Wave until he finishes the bridge he's constructing."

"Where is the client?" Natsu asked, her attention now fully on the meeting. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. The Land of Waves was an extremely degenerating country so why would a mere bridge builder need protection? It was a C rank which meant bandits and local highway men, why would there be a need for four ANBU-level ninjas and six genin on such a mission?

"Where did tou-chan go?" Gaara asked.

"Kakashi is with your client right now," Sarutobi said. "You are to leave in four hours."

"Hai hokage-sama," Natsu said. "Team seven, gather everything you need, pack them in scrolls, we don't want to have heavy baggage on this mission. Reapers, we need to talk. Meet me at the training ground in ten minutes." She said as she disappeared in a swirl of blue fire.

"Team eight, pack light, meet us at the east gates in four hours," Sasuke ordered. "Team seven, you know what to do." The genin nodded and their sensei's disappeared in their respective shunshins. Sarutobi could only smile at their perception.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Kakashi," Natsu called out to the mask wearing ninja who was currently sitting at the bar with an old man who was trying to get himself drunk. "Why did you leave so suddenly?"

"I had to take care of our client," the onyx eyed Copy Nin said in reply. Ever since Kyuubi had evolved his Sharingan he had not felt the constant tug of chakra on his left eye. He still wore his hitaite lopsided though.

"Without saying goodbye," there was a pout in her voice as she sauntered over to the pair, crystal blue never leaving her mate's muscular form.

"I'm sorry," he reached out to her as soon as she was within his arm's length. "I just had to go."

"Well, hello there pretty lady," the old man slurred. "How about I take you someplace we could have~" his drunken rant cut short as he slumped onto the bar, passed out. Natsu didn't know whether to laugh or be disgusted.

"Did he just try to hit on me?"

"Ignore a drunken old man's speech," Kakashi said. "Why did you come here?"

"There something wrong about this mission."

"I know."

"I don't want to go out of the village without knowing everything," Natsu said. "I don't want to risk our children's lives for this."

"We have four ANBU level ninja on our side," Kakashi said. "I'm sure we could take whatever they would throw at us."

"I'm going to see Hinata-nee and Sasu-nii," she informed him. "We'll try to figure out why this mission will require such high ranking ninja when it's only supposed to be a C rank."

"Alright," he conceded.

"I'll see you later," Natsu said as she disappeared in her signature shunshin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Kankuro-nii, where do you think they are?" Temari asked as she and her siblings sat near the gates waiting for their senseis and the other genin.

"I don't know Temari-chan," he said. "They're probably on their way here. Besides, there's still half an hour to go before we our mission starts officially."

"Make up boy!" Kiba shouted as he and his puppy Akamaru sprinted towards the three.

"Dog breath!" Kankuro retorted.

"Where are they?"

"They're obviously not here or else we wouldn't be having this conversation," Kankuro rolled his eyes.

"Shino and Sakura are not here yet?" the dog nin asked.

"On the contrary Kiba-san," Shino's stoic voice made the shaggy haired boy jump. "You should be more aware of your surroundings."

"S-Shino!" he yelled. "Don't do that!"

"Kiba, shut up!" Temari told him, teal eyes glowing eerily.

"What are you gonna do about it blondie?" he taunted the fan-wielding girl.

"Nothing," she replied. "Because, you're not worth my time."

"Why you~"

"Kiba just stop," Gaara intervened. "Keep quiet or I'll make you stay quiet!" he announced. Kiba promptly closed his mouth. Out of all the genin, he was scared more of the redhead than anyone else. The twins had been enrolled into the academy mere months before the graduation and yet they made it seem like they didn't even need to be there. They had taken the top spots as shinobi and kunoichi after the first month and maintained their grades that way. Even with the Inuzuka fighting style backing him up, he couldn't do anything to the sand-wielding shinobi and it scared him how quickly the others had taken a liking to him.

"Why isn't Sasuke-sensei here yet?" a bubblegum haired young girl asked as she walked towards them. As per usual, she stank of her perfume, her red blouse and pink hair making her an even bigger target than she already was.

"They're talking about the mission," Temari replied calmly. "Sasuke-sensei, Hinata-sensei and Natsu-sensei are with Kakashi-sensei."

"You mean that mask-wearing freak is coming with us?" Sakura shrieked.

"He's not a freak," Gaara glared hard at the annoying girl. "Plus, he's a way better ninja than you ever will be." He'd wanted to tell her not to insult his 'father' but he knew it would only complicate their mission if the civilian-mouthed girl knew that they were all related in some way. Sakura flinched at the glare she received and promptly shut her mouth.

"They're coming," the twins said simultaneously.

"How do you know?" Sakura asked suspiciously. She jumped back as a massive vortex appeared before her, getting her wet in the process. Out of it stepped their three senseis all in battle-ready gear, a silver-haired mask-wearing shinobi in standard jounin uniform and a hung over old man who still stank of cheap sake.

"Sasuke-sensei, do I look pretty?" Sakura asked as soon as the vortex died down. Hinata sighed while Natsu and Sasuke glared at the girl.

"Sakura, we're going on our first official mission outside the village and you're wearing perfume that just can be smelled from the hokage tower." His voice was stern as he avoided the question and addressed something he had wanted to correct her on.

"B-b-but..."

"I don't care what your mother says," he said. "She doesn't know the life of a shinobi and if you're truly serious about becoming a kunoichi, I suggest you begin straightening out. I've been trying to tell you that you're not supposed to act like that and yet you don't listen."

"Do you even want to be a kunoichi or did you just enrol in the academy to try to get into Sasuke's pants?" Natsu was not happy, she was pissed, she was beyond angry. She had just found out the true parameters of their mission and she didn't like the way she just knew it would go especially with children on it. She didn't appreciate being lied to and while she had found out the reasons for it, she still didn't think it was right. And now, this annoying pest begins harassing her brother and their mission haven't even begun yet.

"How dare you~" Sakura's angry retort was met with a cold stare from all the adults present as well as the other genins. Kiba just looked on with curiosity while Shino's reaction couldn't be properly gauged.

"How dare I?" Natsu replied. "You come here pretending to be a kunoichi while in truth you and your bitch of a mother are only trying to get into the Uchiha coffers. Did you really think that he would choose you when he's already married and living happily with his wife who happens to love him for him and not because he's and Uchiha? Do you even really like Sasuke? I know for a fact, there's someone else you have your sights on so why do you choose to follow you mother whom you know is only plotting to get richer?"

"S-s-she's not~" Sakura tried to defend her mother but no words come to mind.

"Sakura, you need to take this seriously if not you're going to get killed." Hinata was gentle as she took over the explanation. "It's not right to follow your mother's words just because they have something over your head." Jade eyes widened at the mention of something she knew she hadn't told anyone. "Don't be so surprised, we know everything about your mother. We also know how she thinks, as a matter of fact I know that she was only allowed to leave the jail was because you begged the Hokage to do so."

"Hinata-sensei..."

"Sakura, you need to work on this," the lavender haired heiress said. "If you truly want to become a kunoichi then by all means go for it but if you don't then you need to follow your true passion."

"We're wasting time..." Kakashi said.

"Gomen Kakashi-taichou," Hinata apologized. "Sakura, we're not taking you on this mission," she told the sobbing girl. "I want you to find these two people," she said as she handed her a note. "Find them and talk to them about being a kunoichi. While we're away I want you to really decide on what you want to do with your life otherwise you'll be stuck doing something you don't want to."

"Hai Hinata-sensei!" her mentor could only smile at the determination in her voice. "I'll see you." She then left without another word.

"Alright," Kakashi said. "Now that that's over with," he faced the genins. "This mission has just been raised to an A-rank and Kiba before you begin celebrating I suggest you listen first. You are being given a choice whether you want to go through with this or not."

"Why would we back out?" Kiba asked arrogantly.

"We might be facing A-rank or even S-rank missing nin and so now you can back out if you want."

"Team seven will continue with this mission." The siblings said in unison.

"I would also like to proceed," Shino said as he slipped his glasses further up his nose.

"Then I want to go too!" Kiba exclaimed.

"Let's get one thing straight Tazuna-san," the blonde haired blue eyes sensei turned her attention to the washed up drunk. "We're doing this mission for the sake of your village but if we find out that you've been keeping more from us then we will back out and leave right that instant, is that in anyway unclear?"

"N-n-no..." the old man stuttered in reply. It was amazing how such a petite girl could intimidate men.

"Alright team seven attack formation," she ordered the genin. "Shino and Kiba at point with you right at their flank, Tazuna will travel with Kakashi and I while Hinata and Sasuke move through the trees."

"Hai!"

"Let's move out!"

* * *

**Okay guys, I'm so sorry for the long wait but I've been busy and had gotten into a wall. Comments and suggestions? Please and thank you!**


	14. Chapter 13

**AN: Hello my dearest readers... I'm back and I'll be introducing a new character into this story. Voila!**

* * *

"Kakashi,"

"I know."

"They can handle it Natsu."

"Can they?"

"Let's see what they can do," lavender hair swayed with the wind as she hopped down from the trees with her partner.

"Gaara," Temari said her voice full of urgency as they walked ahead of their senseis.

"I know nee-chan," the redhead replied the cork popping out of his gourd. "Kiba can you smell it?"

"Poison," the shaggy brunet replied. "Lots of it."

"Shino," the puppet-wielding shinobi asked their other comrade. "Can you sense them?"

"Just up ahead hidden in a puddle-genjutsu," the bug shinobi replied.

"Alright listen up," Kankuro took charge as the most experienced genin. Without breaking their formation, he relayed his plan. "They have poison on their weapons as smelled by both Gaara and Kiba. We'll need to stay away from them and fight them long range. We'll wait for them to attack before we retaliate. Temari we need you away from firing range so that you can back us up, fall back to sensei. I'm sure they already know but they're letting us handle it," The blonde nodded.

"Sensei, doesn't the wave country have its own shinobi?" Temari asked as she hopped back towards the elder ninjas.

"No they don't Temari," Kakashi answered his daughter formally.

"How come?"

"They're a small country and it's surrounded by water on most sides," Sasuke said. "If I remember correctly the only way to get on the island is by boat."

"Which is why we were hired to protect the bridge-builder," Natsu concluded.

"Now Shino!" Kankuro's exclamation broke up their conversation.

"Gaara on your left!" Kiba shouted as one clawed shinobi rose from the puddle they had just passed. Gaara's sand reacted instantly to the enemy's presence it blocked the oncoming attack as the redhead regained his control over it. A whip formed out of the golden grains, wrapping around the ninja's torso as smaller tendrils rose to immobilize him. Gaara almost choked at the scent of the poison laced in their weapons.

"Kankuro!"

"Art of Puppetry: Chakra strings!" chains of chakra sprouted from Kankuro's fingertips attaching themselves to the other ninja's body. Shino's bugs continued to drain the missing nin of his chakra even as Kankuro took control of his anatomy.

"Kiba!" Gaara shouted as the brunet swayed. He slammed his captive onto the ground knocking him out before rushing towards his fallen comrade. "Temari!"

Green chakra was already glowing on her hands as she ran towards the dog nin.

"When did he get hit?" Kankuro asked as he made sure that the enemies were unconscious.

"Just before I blew the other one towards Gaara." Temari answered as she ran a diagnostic test on Kiba. "The poison is potent but nothing I can't handle," she said.

"What do you need?"

"Just give me the usual Gaara," Temari ordered as the redhead took out his storage scroll and released a small pouch from it. "Shino, could you get us some water? I can hear a small creek a few meters east of here." He nodded then stood up to do as told.

"Gaara-san," Shino called the attention of the redhead. They sat in a small clearing surrounded by trees. Their senseis had decided that they would rest for the night as the old man had been too tired to continue their journey. "How come you didn't tell Sakura that Kakashi-sensei is your father?"

"She's a civilian," teal eyes narrowed slightly at the mention of the ignorant girl. "You can see that she's not really serious about being a kunoichi. Even if it's not really a secret and we've been training as a team these past few months she still doesn't know that our senseis are actually related to each other. There's no point in telling her besides, she might just blurt it out to someone else and then that would spell doom for everyone in the team." Gaara stopped speaking as his sister emerged from the tent wherein Kiba was being treated.

"Kiba's alright," the blonde announced. "He won't be in full strength by tomorrow but he will be in about three days. The poison was so potent I had a little trouble getting it out of his system."

"So he'll be fine?"

"Yes Gaara, he'll be fine." Natsu said as she too emerged from the tent. "Stop worrying, or do you not trust mine or your sister's healing skills?"

"I do," the redhead was strangely quiet as he spoke. "It's just that, he took that shot because of me."

"It happens Gaara, you'll need to get used to it," Natsu assured him.

"There's no one around," Sasuke announced as he dropped down from the canopy of the trees. "Hinata and I have set traps around us, we'll know if anyone comes within a mile radius of us."

"Isn't it a bit big for just a small group of people?" Tazuna spoke up. He'd been sitting with the genin around the fire but had not spoken a word since the altercation with the missing ninjas.

"We need as much distance as we could possibly get when someone finds this spot." Gaara explained to the civilian when he saw the look his mother was giving him.

"Natsu, can I talk to you for a minute?" Kakashi had just finished setting up another tent when Sasuke and Hinata returned. "We can leave the kids with them." He nodded at the couple who smiled back at him.

"Alright," she walked over to him, taking his outstretched hand as they began to walk into the tree line.

"You know you have to trust that our children can do what they're supposed to do," he told his wife. They sat under the canopy of a large tree, the petit blonde on his lap, her back to his chest with their hands intertwined above her stomach. "You need to trust in their abilities as ninjas."

"I know that, but I'm their mother, I will always worry about them."

"Don't you trust the training that you and two others gave them?"

"I do but~"

"Look Natsu," the silver haired man cut her off. "I know that this is all part of your job as their mother but you also have to think about yourself and our child," he emphasised his words by rubbing her stomach where another life was growing.

"How did you know?" she looked up at him, shock and amazement shining in her crystal blue eyes.

"Did you think I couldn't hear you retching so early in the morning?" his question was rhetorical and yet it was so full of meaning. "I'm a trained ninja; I think it would wake me up if my wife was not in bed with me in the morning. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was afraid of what your reaction would be." She admitted. "I know we said we wanted a child but I didn't think you'd want one this soon."

"So you planned on hiding this from me?" he asked. "For how long would you have if I had not found out?"

"I-I don't know," sapphire watered as pink lips quivered. "I didn't think it through. I don't even know how it happened. I-I-I, it was all my fault." She began to sob, unable to hold back the tears.

"Natsu," he cupped her chin. "You're my wife now. I thought we'd established that when I took you and the Trio in. Why would you think I wouldn't want to know about this? Besides, I certainly know how it happened." He waggled his eyebrows at her, slightly leering even as he wiped her tears away.

"I'm sorry," she twisted in his arms so that she was facing his chest. "I was so scared you wouldn't want me or the baby."

"I love you, you know that," he said as he embraced her tighter. "I want you and whatever else may happen, I know that we can face this head on, together." They stayed in that position until Natsu fell asleep with both physical and emotional exhaustion.

"We'll rest for a few hours," Sasuke told the genin just as Kakashi came back from the forest carrying his already sleeping wife. "I'll take first watch." The dark haired Uchiha volunteered as his brother-in-law took his sister into their tent. "Shino and Kiba take one tent, team seven take the other. Get some sleep we'll set out early tomorrow." The genin shuffled off to their designated sleeping tents leaving Hinata and Sasuke by the fire, their client having gone to sleep some time ago. A swish of air signalled the arrival of another person. Both Reapers didn't flinch at the sound.

"Have you learned anything Ita-kun?" lavender eyes were inquisitive as they looked at the coat-wearing shinobi.

"Just like we were told Gato was the reason why Wave had fallen so low." He pushed back his hood to reveal long dark hair and equally dark eyes. "He'd also hired missing nin into his troops."

"We encountered the Demon Brothers," Sasuke relayed.

"Then you'll be facing Zabuza next," Itachi said.

"Natsu will not be happy."

"She didn't even want to accept this mission," Hinata answered.

"That could probably because of her condition," dark eyebrows shot up in question.

"What condition?"

"Natsu should tell you about it," Hinata intervened before her husband could reveal something they both shouldn't even know about.

"What is it?" red slowly trickled onto black, pupils spinning as they stared at lavender.

"I'm not afraid of your Sharingan Itachi," Hinata told him staring straight back at the elder Uchiha. "You won't get anything from me from using that."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, red fading back into black. "Sometimes I can't control it."

"I believe you," she replied smiling knowingly at him.

"Did I miss something?" Sasuke answered, thoroughly confused at the interaction between his wife and brother.

"You missed a lot," Hinata said as she rose from the log they had been sitting on. Itachi chuckled lightly before doing the same on Sasuke's other side.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to bed," Hinata said.

"And I'll be back up in my tree," Itachi replied.

"What just happened?"

"We're messing with you love," Hinata kissed him on the cheek before lifting the flap on the same tent Kakashi and Natsu were in and entering.

"Natsu when do you think we'll encounter The Demon of the Mist?" Sasuke asked his sister as they walked together towards Wave.

"I'm sure we'll face him before we reach Wave." Blonde hair was pulled up into a single ponytail bouncing as she walked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said. "It had been two days since we encountered the Demon Brothers, if they haven't reported to him then he will have assumed that they failed and will finish the task himself."

"Kiba what the hell are you doing?" Temari shouted at her temporary teammate as the dog nin threw a kunai towards the bushes.

"I heard something moving," he told the blonde.

"What is it?" teal eyes were inquisitive as the genins stopped across the bush. Shino walked towards it, pushing leaves away from his path. It revealed a white furred bunny, the kunai mere inches above its head.

"Kuro-chan?" Red hair bounced atop the head as the owner turned away from the scene and somewhere behind them. "It can't be," Gaara whispered as he listened to the slight shift in the air. "It is him!" he exclaimed. "Temari, it's him."

"I realized that as soon as I saw Kuro," twin teal orbs connected, the pair talking in words only they could understand. "I'm gonna go look for her I'm sure they're around here somewhere."

"Temari what's going on?" Kankuro asked his sister.

"It's Zuzu-chan," Temari answered.

"Why would you call him Zuzu-chan?" Gaara questioned his twin.

"Because he looks like a Zuzu-chan," Natsu laughed at the interaction.

"Go ahead Temari," the mother gave permission to her daughter. "Look for them."

"Hai!"

"Gaara you know what to do," she turned her attention back to her youngest son. "Take your brother through, I'll take Kiba and Shino."

"I found them," Temari said in a sing-song voice, teal eyes glowing eerily as she opened them, her chakra sparkling as she concentrated.

"Alright, you know what to do," Natsu told them. "Shino and Kiba I need you guys to stick close to me. We're dealing with an A-rank missing ninja here."

"What do you want us to do Natsu?" Kakashi asked.

"Sit back and enjoy the show," pinks lips lifted up cheekily then she turned her attention back to the genin.

"Here it comes..." Gaara warned as they heard a soft whistling.

"Get down!"

"Yo Zuzu-chan!" Temari greeted the man standing atop a gigantic zanbatou as she rose from the ground.

"Brat!"

"Eyebrows what the hell do you think you're doing?" Gaara caught the man's attention when he flashed through handsigns.

"You think you can take me on?"

"I know I can," Gaara said cockily. "Shino let's do it."

"Hai!"

"Sand Style: Sandstorm!" swirling sand rose from the ground, giving cover to the ninjas present.

"You think this will slow me down?" Zabuza laughed loudly at the attempt, flaring his chakra as he did so.

"I know it won't," Gaara chuckled. "But then again, that wasn't my intention."

"I'm ready," Shino said, his eyeglasses flashing with the sunlight.

"So am I." Redhead bounced atop the head as the owner ran towards the tree where Zabuza had stuck his sword on. "Sand shuriken!" multiple throwing stars made of sand flew towards the missing nin, Zabuza hopping down to avoid them leaving his sword still stuck on the tree.

"Bug dome!" chakra-eating bugs swarmed the unaware ninja as he crouched on the ground to soften his fall.

"What the hell Gaara!" he shouted within the dome of bugs.

"Come on out Haku-chan," Temari said, her voice still in a sing-song tone.

"They're taking my chakra!" Zabuza shouted, the mass of bugs moving with him as he tried to swat them off.

"Of course they are," Gaara huffed. "They're called chakra-eating insects for a reason."

"Get them off of me!"

"Not until you tell me why you're doing this."

"I found you Haku-chan," Temari was still teasing. "You know you can't hide from me."

"Leave her alone you blonde-haired brat!"

"But I'm not doing anything to her!"

"Eyebrows, you really should stop doing that," Gaara tutted. "You know you'll only be giving them more of what they want that way."

"Should I let them take all of his chakra?" Shino asked his redheaded partner.

"Leave enough for him to stay alive."

"It may take a while," the bug-user said. "He does have a lot of chakra."

"It doesn't matter, just keep him there while Temari deals with his accomplice."

"I got you now Haku-chan!" Temari said, disappearing in a burst of speed as soon as she finished.

"Get away from me!" another feminine voice shouted from within the tree line.

"No, you were hiding from me!"

"We were on a mission!" a loud shriek signalled that the other person had been caught.

"Do you even know what type of mission it was?"

"Of course I did!"

"Then why did you do it!"

"We needed the money." The group listened as the other girl sobbed. She was assisted into the clearing with by Temari.

"Where's Akira-kun?"

"That's what we needed the money for," Zabuza said from inside the dome. "Can you please let me go now?"

"What happened to him?"

"We met with that group you warned us about," Zabuza said as the insects moved away from his body.

"Which pair?"

"The blonde one from Iwa was with Sasori of the Sand."

"Did Akira get hit?" Natsu's voice was laced with worry.

"He did."

"How long has it been?"

"Almost three weeks."

"And he's lasted this long?"

"The poison was meant to prolong the death of a person to up to six weeks," Haku explained.

"Alright let me see him."

"I'll take you to him," Zabuza said.

"Why are they talking to him as if he was a long time friend?" Kakashi asked Hinata and Sasuke.

"They've known each other since the twins had their episode with Shukaku."

"How come you know all these things about them?"

"You only have to ask about it," Sasuke assured him. "But there are things that Natsu won't easily disclose to you, you will have to break down her defences and then talk to her about the things that you want to know."

"How do you know these things?"

"Sasuke, we'll meet you at Tazuna's," Natsu said as she carried Haku. "I'll go check on Akira and I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Kaa-chan, can I go?" Temari and Gaara asked in unison.

"I'm taking the twins with me." The trio vanished in a bright yellow flash, taking Zabuza and Haku with them.

"What's going on?" Kakashi asked.

"We'll figure it out as soon as they get back," Hinata assured. "Aniki, follow them please."

"I will."

"How long has he been here?" onyx narrowed at the couple as the man dropped down from the trees.

"I've been here since the beginning of the mission." Itachi said before he too vanished.

"I really need to be brought up to speed."

"We may," Hinata and Sasuke said together. "But not until Natsu says we can."

"Why do you follow her?"

"You'll find out soon."

"Alright, Kankuro, Shino and Kiba I need you to guard Tazuna as we continue to his house. We'll wait for the others to join with us before deciding on anything."

* * *

**AN: Tell me what you think ne? I do work faster if I have people talking to me. Constructive criticism is always welcome.. **

**Lots of love,**

** Allie  
**


	15. Chapter 14

**AN: Hi guys! So I was feeling pretty inspired with all the feedback I was getting so here's the next chapter.**

* * *

"Damn it!" blonde hair was pulled up into a messy bun, stray strands littering the heart shaped face, crystal blue eyes shining with worry as the chakra-covered hand ran over the petite body it was trying to heal. "Don't do this to me Akira! Come on, you can get through this. You've been without help for three weeks but now that I'm here you need to stay alive!" panic laced the voice, fearing the death of a beloved.

"You're gonna be alright Akira!" another blonde, this one with teal eyes assured the young boy on the table. "You're going to be fine." Emerald eyes shone with hope as they wiped the sweat off the boy's forehead.

"You always wanted to train with us didn't you?" another voice, another person trying to keep the boy alive. "This time you can do it. You're big enough to be training with us now. But, you can't do that if you're not here. You need to be strong right now alright?"

"Come on, come on," relentless in their job, the trio continued to work on saving the life of one so precious to all of them. Multiple times, he almost slipped from their fingertips but they managed to get him back, to convince him to stay for years to come.

"Are you alright?" a deep baritone rang throughout the silent compound. "You know they'll do everything to keep him alive right?"

"I know that." A feminine voice, small and sounding so weary. "I just... I don't know what I'll do if we lose him. I'm not sure if I can take that."

"You need to trust in them."

"I do, I just..."

"You're worrying about him," he sat down, taking her much smaller frame against his burly one, letting her head lean on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her for support. "That's what big sisters do, they worry about their siblings. But you know that he'll get through this because he's strong just like you."

"Arigatou tou-san."

"We just have to wait for them to finish up then we'll know when we can start training him." He said as if trying to convince her though they both knew he was just as terrified as she was.

"It's been three days!" Frustration reflected in the grey orbs as a masculine hand ran across silver locks. "There's been no word, what are we going to do?"

"There's nothing we **can** do." dark eyes narrowed at the feeling of helplessness that was assaulting him at the moment. "We don't know where they've gone and there's no way to track them because it's Natsu we're talking about."

"There are always ways of tracking someone," pausing in his pacing, he turned his attention to the other man who was sitting across him. "We can get her scent! I can summon Pakkun to find them!"

"Brilliant idea," the other man deadpanned. "If only you've thought of that three days ago, we would already know where they are. As of now there would be no trace left."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Natsu has been trained for this. How do you think she's managed to evade all the hunter nin after them while she was away training the twins?"

"I thought they were in Makai?"

"They were, but did you think they wouldn't come back to this dimension every so often? Besides, that's not the point here. We can't find them until they want us to."

"Couldn't you just summon Yukimaru to send a message to them?"

"I can't summon him he's Natsu's personal summons."

"Then what are we going to do?"

"Nothing," a gentle but firm voice finally intervened. "You will not do anything but wait. They will come back when they are ready to." Lavender orbs lined with silver stared sternly at both men. "If you had been paying attention to your surroundings, you would've realized that the genin have already gone to protect Tazuna at the bridge – a job that both of you should be doing ever since we found out that missing nin are in this mission."

"We can't~" they both began simultaneously.

"You can and you will!" she ordered. "I'm tired of you two moping around in this house and this is not even your home! You both have jobs to do so you better do it. You," she pointed at the older male. "You have a son here. Worry about him before you worry about the other two with your wife and you," she turned her attention to her partner. "You have students you should be training."

"Hinata~"

"Get to it!" both men sighed but left to do as told.

"I love the way you handled them," another feminine voice spoke from behind the blue-haired young woman. "It reminds me of the way I used to handle Kaiza-kun." Both women laughed as they went inside the house.

"Temari, go get Zabuza," Natsu ordered her daughter. "I need more chakra."

"Zuzu-chan!" the little girl shouted. "Get in here and bring Haku-chan with you."

"What the hell you brat!" the sliding door slammed open to reveal a tall man wearing no shirt and a bandana wrapped around his head with a petite young girl wearing a kimono.

"Shut up and give some of your chakra to kaa-chan, she can't spare anymore."

"What?"

"Just do what I said." Jade eyes narrowed as they glared at the man.

"Fine fine, but you still have to explain this to me."

"Haku-chan, you think you can take over here?"

"I really need more chakra," Natsu said as the green chakra covering her hand started to flicker.

"Zabuza get going!"

"I'm here, I'm here."

"If you don't hurry up and endanger my baby brother or sister, I will kill you." Teal eyes shone with anger, the red hair reflecting the light within the room and made him look like an angry angel.

"You're pregnant?" the former swordsman of the Mist gaped at the blonde young woman.

"Move!" twin voices shouted at the man.

"Alright alright," he raised his hands trying to placate the twins. He walked over to Natsu and put his hand on her shoulder as he began to transfer his chakra into her. The healing chakra surrounding her hand began to normalize until it was enough for her to continue her task.

"Haku-chan, can you please take over?"

"Gaara are you alright?" Natsu asked her youngest son.

"I'm fine kaa-chan," he tried to reassure her as Haku took over. "I'm just feeling a little queasy."

"Go get some rest." She ordered.

"You should too," he countered. "It's not good for either of you to overexert yourself."

"I'm fine," Natsu replied. "I can handle myself."

"That's the problem," Gaara glared at his mother. "**You** can handle **yourself** but you're forgetting about that other life growing within you."

"How do you even know about that?"

"Kaa-chan, if you've forgotten then let me remind you that I too have keen senses due to being a jinchuuriki but it was not me who found out first, it was actually Temari."

"We'll talk about this later, for now go get some rest we'll finish soon."

"I still can't believe you're pregnant," Zabuza muttered as soon as Gaara had shut the door.

"Believe it because it's real."

"What's the diagnosis on Akira?" Zabuza stared back at the surprised blue eyes gaping at him. "What? I do know medical terms. But seriously, how is he?"

"We've gotten most of the poison out and Temari has already made an antidote which we'll put in an IV and then we just have to wait until his body flushes the rest of the poison."

"What are you still doing here then?"

"We're just fixing the damage to his internal organs," she replied. "And we're done." She announced.

"Temari-chan set up his IV and then get some rest."

"Hai kaa-chan!" she scurried off to do as told.

"It's all up to him now," she brushed a stray strand of blue hair from the boy's forehead. "We have to go back to the team but we'll wait until Akira wakes up. I'll send Yukimaru to send news to them."

"You've done your job now let me do mine," Zabuza said as he patted her shoulder. "Go get some rest. Kakashi will kill me if he finds out I've let you do this to yourself."

"How did you even know it was Kakashi?"

"You're not as secretive as you think you are." He replied. "Now go, I'll wait for Temari to come back and then I'll make her sleep as well."

"Arigatou nii-chan,"

"Anything for family," the shirtless man shooed her out of the room and she rolled her eyes in turn. "And don't do anything more today. Sending a message to them can wait 'til you're fully rested."

"Alright, alright," she said.

"Hinata-obaa!" Kankuro shouted as he ran towards the lavender haired woman.

"What is it Kankuro?"

"Kaa-chan sent Yukimaru," the puppeteer said as he panted for breath. Behind him trotted a now four-tailed blue fox.

"Ohayou Hinata-sama," the gruff but familiar voice of the fox drifted towards the two as he took his time walking towards them. "I bring a message from Natsu-sama."

"I see, but before you give me their message tell me how are they?"

"They are well," he said. "They are waiting for the kit, Akira I believe his name is, to wake up from the surgery."

"And Natsu?"

"She and the kit are fine my lady."

"Thank you Yukimaru." Hinata said as she took the scroll from one of the four waving tails.

"I shall train with the genin as I wait for your reply."

"Alright, just don't tire them out too much." His lips stretched open in what could be called as a smile as he dragged the boy away by his tail.

"No promises," he said over his shoulder.

"Kakashi-nii, Sasuke-kun Natsu sent a message." She called into the house. The two men were quickly by her side both eager to hear from the 'lost' group. Hinata bit her thumb and swiped the bloody digit across the blood seal on top; the scroll sizzled before falling open to reveal the neat handwriting of one blonde haired kunoichi.

_Hina-nee, Sasu-nii,_

_I want you guys to know that I'm sorry for disappearing like that. I was worried about Akira, he's only four and he's already suffered through so much. I know I told you that I met Zabuza when I was with the twins training but what I didn't tell you is that he adopted two children. The elder one Haku is the girl you met and Akira is his adopted son, he was only two when we first met but he had an ability that I have never seen before. It's difficult to explain but I will show you once he gets better. Zabuza is one of my spies, he's an official Konoha ninja but he still goes around as the Demon of the Mist to help me with my plans. I'll tell you more about this when I get back which I expect will be in about four days. _

_Take care of things there while I recover from the surgery and thank you for sending Itachi-nii to follow us. I was so worried about Akira that I didn't notice him until I saw him in bed with Gaara almost a day and a half later. Have Kakashi swipe his blood on the next seal and it will give him my letter for him. Arigatou nee-chan and take care._

_Suki_

"I think you know what to do nii-chan?" Hinata asked the silver-haired male sitting on her right. She handed him the letter as she rose from her seat on the patio. She held her hand towards her partner as she said, "We'll leave you alone."

"Why?" one word that escaped his masked lips, a question he was still unable to answer. He sighed deeply as he did what he was told and another scroll popped out.

_Kashi-kun,_

_I'm so sorry. I know there are so many things that you want to know and that I should tell you but I don't know where to begin. I promise you that I will tell you everything soon, I'm just not sure how you will react to some of the things that I will reveal and I'm afraid of your reaction just like I was with the baby. _

_There are so many things I'd like you to know about me but at the same time I fear that the things I will reveal will change what you feel for me. I know they won't but it's still hard not to think about it. I will tell you everything once we get back to Konoha, for now I'd like you to know that I love you with all of my heart and I am really sorry that I did not tell you everything you needed to know. I hope you understand my reasons when I do. I will see you soon. _

_Love,_

_Natsumi Suki Uzumaki Namikaze – Hatake_

_"She's so much like her mother." _ he thought. _"Kushina-chan, if only you were here to see her." _

"Gaara where are you?" Natsu shouted as she walked through the halls of the house they were staying at.

"He's with Itachi in the onsen," Zabuza said as he walked past the searching young woman. "Haku and Temari are in Akira's room while I am going to the dojo to train a little."

"Guess that explains why I haven't seen anyone around," she muttered. "Thanks aniki."

"No problem."

Natsu sighed as she turned to the direction of the garden. She sat down on the grass, the garden looking more like a meadow as the flowers swayed with the gentle breeze. Looking around her, she felt at ease with the serenity and peace of the garden. There was something about it that made it so beautiful and alive in that quiet way that she could not explain. She was lulled into a light sleep by her peaceful surroundings but the soft padding that she heard made her open her eyes quickly.

"Natsu-sama, I see you've rested well." The ever-respectful four tailed fox walked into her view. She rose from the soft bed of grass she had been lying on before addressing him.

"Yukimaru, you've returned."

"Hai I have my lady," he bowed slightly to her as he said. "And I brought Kakashi-sama's reply to your letter."

"Only Kakashi sent a reply?" she asked. "What about aniki and nee-chan?"

"They said to tell you that they believe everything you say and can wait to find out the rest of the details when you get back."

"Alright then, where's Kakashi's letter?"

"I should warn you that he was in a bit of a somber mood when I came and left."

"Thank you Yukimaru, I shall summon you when I have need of you again."

"'Til next time my lady," he bowed once more before disappearing in a puff of smoke. She sighed softly to herself before opening the scroll that Yukimaru had just left her.

_Natsu,_

_Come back to me, I'll be waiting._

_Kakashi_

She could only smile at the note. It was straight to the point, _"Just like the kind of man he is. No nonsense, just the truth."_

"Kaa-chan, Akira's doing it again!" Temari's panicked voice reached her before she heard the heavy footsteps of the people running through the house. "You need to see this!" the sliding door was pulled open, both Haku and Temari standing there worried looks plastered on their faces.

"Alright what's going on?"

"Akira's~" a blast of chakra from the boy's room had them frozen for a moment. They wasted no time, the group shunshined back to the room to find their patient surrounded with a bubble of multi-colored chakra as he floated above his bed.

"What is happening to him?" Temari asked her mother, afraid to look and yet strangely attracted to the scene.

"Akira," Zabuza's booming voice shocked the three young women in the room. "You're safe, you're with your family." The chakra shockwave increased making it more difficult to stay standing.

"Akira-kun," Natsu began to call out to the young boy. "It's Natsu-obaa, do you think you can calm down just a little?"

"Akira-kun," Temari followed their lead. "Do you want to train with me and Gaara-nii and Haku-nee?" the chakra slowly diffused as the boy opened his eyes to look at his shocked audience.

"Can I really?" his voice was like an angel's whisper, melodious yet silent at the same time.

"Of course you can," Haku spoke up this time "But you need to get better first alright otoutou?"

"Hai nee-chan," he agreed as he floated down towards his family. "I'm tired." He said just as his eyes fluttered close. The chakra dissipated from the air but formed a pair of white angel wings on his back, they wrapped around him as fell to the ground in a dead sleep.

"What the hell just happened?" Natsu asked the question they've all been thinking.

"That was his defence mechanism," Zabuza said as he picked the boy up from the floor. "I only began to notice it these past few months. Whenever he gets hurt whether physically, mentally or emotionally he would do this. The chakra that you saw was his but I don't know why it's multi colored neither do I know what it really was. Although, this is the first time I've seen him manifest wings."

"It's strange, what happened to him was just like what happened to Temari and Natsu when they were introduced to the council. The chakra blasted the whole council room but we calmed them down and they actually listened to us." Natsu said.

"He's fine kaa-chan," Temari rose from her crouched position on the floor. "There's nothing wrong with him and whatever happened actually accelerated his healing rate. The damage to his internal organs is all but gone."

"We'll need to research on this," Natsu said. "Get him back to bed, we'll get back to Wave tomorrow morning."

"They should be back soon, it's been a week already."

"Will you stop pacing?" annoyance could be heard from the gentle feminine voice. "They'll get here when they get here."

"You can't tell me to do that Hinata," the other argued. "My _pregnant wife_ is out there somewhere with two of my children and she's with a missing nin who you say is her friend. Who knows what could happen?"

"You need to start trusting her more," she replied. "She would never do anything to put your children in danger, that's not to say she wouldn't do that to herself."

"Exactly, I'm worried more for her than them."

"I know that, she knows that but that doesn't mean she'll change just because you always worry. Besides, you're both ninja your lives are always in danger."

"It still doesn't keep me from worrying."

"You won't talk him out of it koi," another masculine voice said. "When he's worrying out of his wits like this it's very difficult talking him out of whatever he's thinking of."

"I was just telling him to stop pacing, he's making me dizzy."

"Kaa-chan you're back!" Kankuro's excited voice reached the elder ninja, followed by his joyful laughter.

"Hello Kankuro-kun," the gentle voice of the person they were talking about was soft but with their trained ears, it was easy to hear. "How have you and your father been?"

"Tou-chan was really worried about you and Temari and Gaara, but I wasn't because I knew how awesome you were!" the fourteen-year old boy could be so mature at times it was difficult to think of him as a child but sometimes as ninja they forget so easily.

"Thank you for believing in us Kankuro-kun, what have you, Kiba and Shino been doing while we were gone?"

"We were training, mostly chakra control and sparring."

"Well then, I believe the others are waiting for us," she said. "In the meantime there's someone Gaara and Temari would like to introduce to you."

"Really, who?"

"Kuro-niichan!" Temari called out as she along with Gaara, Haku and Akira entered the clearing. "Meet Haku-chan, Akira-chan and Zuzu-chan!"

"Oi, stop calling me that!" the swordsman's eyebrow twitched at the nickname as he followed at a lazy pace with Itachi.

"You will always be Zuzu-chan to me." The teal eyes blonde stuck his tongue out at the older man.

"Temari stop antagonizing eyebrows."

"Aniki," Natsu called out, both men looking at her simultaneously. "We need to go talk to the others." Itachi nodded as did Zabuza.

"Kankuro, Temari you two are in charge. Take care of the others while the adults talk okay?"

"Hai kaa-chan!"

"Natsu-chan!" Hinata rose from her seat as soon as the blonde came into view. They had been listening to the conversation between her and the genin, deciding to wait for her to come. "How are you?"

"I'm alright nee-chan, a little exhausted otherwise fine."

"Thank goodness, I've been so worried."

"It didn't look like it," Sasuke and Kakashi muttered simultaneously.

"Just because I didn't mope around doesn't mean I wasn't worried about them," Hinata was indignant as she defended herself. "At least I didn't pull my hair out instead of doing my duties as a sensei and a father would."

"They did what?"

"They were so worried they'd forgotten we were still on a mission," Hinata relayed. "Both of them had already worn a path on the stone floor."

"Don't exaggerate Hinata, we didn't pull out hair out neither did we wear down the floor," Kakashi intervened.

"Oh really, then what would you call~" Sasuke's hand on her mouth prevented her from saying anything more.

"Anyway, did you do what you had to?" the dark haired Uchiha tried for a change of subject.

"Yes, Akira's fine though it would still take a few more weeks before he heals fully but most of the damage had already gone."

"And what about Gato?" Kakashi asked. "With Zabuza gone from his forces surely he would do the job himself?"

"He'll be here in the next two days," Zabuza said having kept quiet during the beginning of the conversation.

"How long before the bridge is finished?" Natsu asked.

"Tazuna says it'll be two more weeks before it is completed," Kakashi said. "But there's nothing in the way besides Gato at the moment."

"Then we take care of him when he comes," Zabuza said. "Without me and Haku, he will have a hard time fighting ninja and it will be difficult for him to find another missing nin to work for him."

"So we take him out, just like that?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, now here's the plan." Cerulean eyes shone decisively, her aura brimming with determination. "We finish this once and for all."

* * *

**AN: What did you think? Tell me ne? I really would like to know..**

**Lots of love,  
**

**Allie  
**


	16. Chapter 15

**AN: Here's another chappy my dear readers.. Just a little insight on some of the main pairings. **

* * *

"Hokage-sama Team seven and team Zabuza returning from their mission," the brown-haired secretary announced as the teams entered the hokage's office.

"Arigatou Matsumoto-san," the aged leader nodded as the woman stepped out.

"Temari," Natsu called a silent order as the younger blonde nodded and then flashed through hand signs.

"Natsu, how have you been?"

"I'm fine jii-jii," Natsu said as she stood in Kakashi's arms.

"How did the mission go?"

"Mission accomplished Hokage-sama," Kakashi reported as the senior ninja on the squad. "We met with little resistance when we stormed through Gato's hideout mostly mercenaries and some low-level ninjas but they were easily taken care of."

"And how do Team Zabuza come into play?" the aged leader asked as he stared at the man wielding the gigantic sword. He stood at attention with a pale, long-haired girl wearing a kimono and a young blue-haired boy who looked back at him curiously.

"We met with them on the way, they had been working with Gato to kill the bridge-builder before they found out that Natsu and the twins were part of the team sent to guard Tazuna."

"Alright, Team 7 shall be given A-rank pay for this successful mission. The genin may leave but I ask that your team leaders stay." The genin filed out of the room some to go back home, others to wait outside.

"Now give me the full report on your mission Zabuza," the hokage ordered the sword wielding shinobi.

"We've canvassed the location and set up a small hideout there," Zabuza said. "The demon brothers have successfully recruited other members to our ranks and should already be training them."

"Ah, that explains why they were begging me to let them go since they were sent here via summons."

"Did you let them leave jii-jii?"

"I didn't _let _them, although I might've mentioned what time the guard shift changes in their cell." The Reapers along with Zabuza and Haku smiled at the wistful look on the old man's face. "Anyway, I assume everything's ready then?"

"Everything's set on our side hokage-sama," Zabuza assured.

"Very well, you shall be awarded S-rank pay for your mission. Are you staying?" the tall man looked at his blonde sister for the answer.

"I need them outside still jii-jii," Natsu said. "There are some things that still need to be done. But they will be staying at the manor for a week while we establish more of our plans."

"Alright you may all leave you have a week's rest for your successful mission."

"Hai hokage-sama!" they chorused collectively. The group then walked out of the room one by one Kakashi walking behind the whole group. He closed the door behind Sasuke who was the last to step out and then turned to speak to Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama, may I request two week's vacation with my family?"

"Granted," The old man smiled at him as he replied.

"Just like that?"

"It's been a long time coming," he continued to smile. "You've been a family for so long and yet you haven't had any time together."

"Arigatou Hokage-sama."

"Just take it easy for the next two weeks and take care of Natsu for me would you?"

"Hai Hokage-sama," Kakashi answered.

"Times like this Kakashi, call me jii-jii."

"Arigatou jii-jii," Kakashi returned the smile the old man was giving him.

"Alright now go, I'm sure they're wondering what you're still doing in here."

"I wonder what he's talking to jii-jii about," Natsu mused as she sat with her children outside the hokage's office.

"I'm sure it's nothing bad," Hinata said even as she yawned widely.

"You should go home Hinata-nee."

"Are you sure?"

"You're tired," Natsu said. "We'll wait for Kakashi."

"Good night then," Hinata suppressed another yawn as she walked over to Sasuke who had already dozed off as he stood with his back against the wall. "Let's go home anata." She whispered softly into his ear as he wrapped her arms around her waist. The pair disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving Natsu with Temari, Gaara and Kankuro alone.

"Where are Zabuza and the others?"

"Zabuza-nii left to go to the manor, Akira was getting restless."

"Hinata and Sasuke too I assume?"

"They just left." Kakashi walked over to Natsu and picked up both Temari and Gaara.

"Let's go home," he said as Kankuro rose woozily, holding onto Natsu for support.

"Kashi, I know you wanted me to tell you," Natsu began as she and her husband stood in the doorway of their children's room, watching them sleep.

"You don't have to tell me right now," he pulled her closer, flush against him so she could feel his excitement. "Right now, what I _need_ from you is for you to let me love you." He whispered huskily into her ear, earning him a slight moan in response.

"Make love to me Kashi," she whispered as she spun around, pulled down his mask and captured his lips in a fierce kiss. It had been too long since the last time, they needed each other. Kakashi closed the door and pushed his wife against it his hands trailing up her sides, bringing with them the slightly loose top she wore. She growled impatiently as he continued to tease her, heating her up until she was dizzy with the sensations he awakened. "Bedroom," she hissed into his ear as he continued his languid pace in arousing her. A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest before he yielded to her request and carried her bridal style into their bedroom. He kicked the door close with his foot then he proceeded to do as he had planned.

"Gaara keep quiet!"

"But I want to see kaa-chan!"

"Let her rest, she needs it right now."

"I want her, I want her, I want her!"

"Stop it Gaara!"

"What's going on?" a groggy masculine voice interrupted the twins' argument as the door opened revealing their father who had foregone his usual mask and wore only pajama pants as he rubbed his eye sleepily.

"Tou-chan can I see kaa-chan?" Gaara's childish voice was his reply.

"Kaa-chan is sleeping right now," Kakashi answered, seemingly woken by the slight hesitation in the redhead's voice. "What is it that you wanted to speak with her?"

"I, um, I, never mind, I'll wait for her to wake up," he tried hard to beat down the blush that was creeping up his neck. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the weird behavior but let it go nonetheless.

"Alright then why don't you and your siblings go find Hinata-obaa and Sasuke-jii and ask them to train you?"

"Kankuro-niichan has already gone to train with Gai-sensei's team," Temari pouted slightly as she replied. "I bet he's just always there because of Tenten."

"Why don't you look for Shikamaru's team then?" Kakashi told her.

"Really, you won't mind if I go find him?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Arigatou tou-chan!" she squealed happily as she ran to embrace the silver-haired man. Temari then bounded over to her twin, pulled him close as well, whispered something in his ear then disappeared in a mini tornado.

"So what do you plan to do now Gaara-chan?"

"Tou-chan..." the redhead pouted as he looked at his father.

"Go find Itachi I'm sure he will be more than happy to spend the day with you." He smiled at his youngest, the pink tinge on the boy's cheek causing him to chuckle lightly.

"Ne tou-chan, why are you making everyone leave the house?" the innocent question froze the older man.

"Maa, maa, I just thought you would've wanted to spend time with Itachi but I guess not. You could always just wait around for your mother to wake up but in her state that could be any time from now 'til noon."

"I think you just want her all to yourself today," Gaara said, watching his father's reaction closely. The red line that ran across the pale man's nose convinced him that he was right. "I'm right, aren't I? Anyway, I think I'll go find Tachi-kun. Bye tou-chan." he disappeared in a swirl of golden brown grains.

"Kashi, come back to bed." The drowsy voice of his lover woke him from his shock. Grinning widely at the thoughts running rampant through his head, he turned back to the room where his wife had sat up, the thin blanket pooled on her legs, her bare and slightly larger breasts revealed for his eyes only.

"That depends, what are we going to do?" he grinned wolfishly at the still sleepy look she gave him and yet her crystal blue eyes clouded over with lust.

"I'm sure we could think of some things," she raised her eyebrows at him, smiling seductively as he stepped back into their bedroom. He walked over to the bed, not bothering to close the door figuring they were alone anyway.

"Tachi?" Gaara called out. He was in the small apartment where the dark-haired man was staying. As expected, the place was immaculate, everything was in order and yet the redhead couldn't find the only thing he was looking for. "Tachi, are you here?" still no answer. _"Wonder where he is?" _He wandered further into the apartment, making his way to the bedroom. "Tachi?" he opened the door, peeking his head through it not wanting to actually break in to someone else's privacy. Itachi lay on his bed sleeping his long dark hair sprawled around him looking like a halo. _"Who would've thought he slept without a shirt on?" _ The pale chest was bared to the teals eyes watching, one hand on the muscled stomach the other by his head. His gaze trailed lower to the wiry curls that began just under the older man's navel and ended somewhere beneath the loose pants he wore.

"Like what you see love?" the teasing voice was his only warning as a pair of onyx eyes opened and met with his teal ones. Gaara's breath hitched at all the emotions dancing in those orbs. "Come here Gaa-ra-kun," Itachi's voice was seductive as he rose, his hair falling perfectly in place as he sat on the bed as he sent Gaara a 'come-hither' look.

"Tachi," Gaara whispered as he flashed a mischievous smile at the Uchiha. "Why do you tease me like this?" he asked in a half whining, half questioning voice. They both knew it wasn't time, he was too young, he wasn't ready but it didn't mean they couldn't tease each other about it.

"Didn't you know?" Itachi rose from the bed as Gaara pushed the door fully open. "It's my favourite past time." He strode over to the red head the height difference so glaringly obvious as he stepped into the younger's personal bubble. He pulled the redhead close with one hand the other reached for the door as he leaned down to kiss his love's forehead. They weren't ready, but that didn't mean they couldn't have their moments.

"Yoshino leave them alone."

"They look so cute together don't they?" the warning was ignored in favour of watching their son and the blonde haired girl spend time together in the family garden. Lazy, one word to describe the Nara men and yet one pineapple haired boy was actually making an effort.

"I know they do but that doesn't mean you have the right to spy on them," the exasperated tone in her husband's voice took away all the amusement she felt just watching the teens' interaction.

"Why are you such a kill joy?"

"Let Shikamaru and Temari have their moment together," Shikaku Nara, father to one Shikamaru, wife to Yoshino and patriarch of the Nara clan sighed at his wife's attitude towards their only heir's relationship. "It's very rare for Temari to be in village with nothing to do so just leave them in peace."

"But then _I_ won't have anything to do," Yoshino whined as her husband pulled the door close.

"Come on, let's have lunch together just you and me," Shikaku offered his hand to his now delighted wife, grumbling in his mind about _'the things he does for his son'_.

"Are they gone?" Shikamaru asked the girl who lay on his legs as he sat leaning against a maple tree in their garden.

"Your dad's taking your mom out for lunch," she replied.

"Finally," the brown-haired boy sighed in relief. "I thought they were never going to leave."

"Why do you hate your mom?" Temari lay on her side so she could look into the brown eyes of the lazy boy.

"I don't hate her," he said. "It's just that she likes to _pry_. She pretends as if she doesn't know something when in fact she'd already made a plan or has an opinion about it. Sometimes, it's too much."

"Don't worry Shika-kun, I could always get you away from her," she rose from his lap and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Mendokusei," he muttered as he scratched his flaring cheek.

"Yosh! Tenten-chan, that was a most youthful battle!"

"Thank you Lee."

"Ten-chan, would you like to go somewhere to eat?"

"Sure why not?"

"You two go, I'll tell Gai-sensei."

"Thanks Neji."

"What would you like to eat?"

"How about barbecue?"

"Alright," he took her hand as they left the training ground.

"Yosh! Such a beautiful display of youth!" an exuberant Lee shouted. "I shall find a lovely beauty of my own, if I cannot do that then I shall run up and down the Hokage mountain a thousand times and if I cannot~"

"Can it Lee!" a thoroughly annoyed Neji bonked the energetic boy on the head. Shaking his head, the branch family member wondered how he'd lasted so long in the team with the younger one _and _the older one together. _"Oh right, I held on because of her."_

She sat in peace, alone in the beautiful garden of the Namikaze manor. The silence gave her solace as she thought about one dark-haired boy that had been plaguing her mind since the day they met. It was so unusual for her to be bothered by anything especially a boy and she didn't know what to think of it. She'd once seen herself to be a tool but meeting the blonde woman she now thought to be family changed everything. She'd been lost, without a purpose but he found her and he trained her. She was happy to be of use and had thought that she was meant to be a tool, no emotions to display nothing to do besides obeying _his_ orders.

"Haku-neechan!" the excited voice of her otoutou broke her from her musings. The blue haired four-year old ran through the sliding doors and tackled her into the ground.

"How are you feeling Akira-chan?"

"I woke up and then I was alone but I knew you were here, I don't know how I just did!"

"_He sure is hyper today," _she thought. "Now tell me Akira-chan, why are you here?"

"Well, tou-chan said to call you and he told me why but I forgot. No, I didn't forget I just don't remember but I did see the mutt and the dog boy in the living room. It could have something to do with that but I'm just not sure," he stared at his older sister who had frozen in her spot. "Nee-chan?"

"Who did you say was in the living room?"

"Tou-chan, Sasu-jii, Hina-obaa, Kiba-san and Shino-san." He counted off his fingers as he said each name.

"We shouldn't keep them waiting then," Haku rose bringing Akira with her.

"Ne nee-chan, why is your face so red, are you feeling sick?" she didn't know how to answer so she settled for a chuckle.

"I'm just excited to see them is all," she told him. "Let's go see them."

"Hai!"

"I wonder what's taking them so long."

"Maybe Haku-chan fell asleep," lavender turned to look at her partner as she replied.

"If Akira's waking her up I doubt it," Kiba muttered to his companion who gave a small bark in reply.

"What do you have against Akira?" the dog nin turned his attention towards his dark-haired sensei who had asked him the question.

"He gets on my nerves. I don't know what it is that he has or whatever, it's just that he annoys me so much."

"The boy does nothing to you and yet you are annoyed by him?" Raised eyebrows were the only reaction from his bug using teammate.

"At least I don't have a crush," Kiba retorted.

"Are you sure about that?" a feminine voice interrupted their conversation. "I could make a list of names of people who you seem to be attracted to." The boys turned to Haku who had just entered the living room with Akira in tow.

"No one asked you," the shaggy brunet said.

"Ohayou Haku-chan," Shino greeted the dark haired girl.

"Hey I'm here too!" the blue haired, green eyed boy protested loudly at being ignored.

"Ohayou to you too Akira-chan."

"Ohayou Shino-san, Kiba-san," He replied respectfully before turning his attention to the elders in the room. "Jii-san, Baa-chan!" he launched himself at Team eight's senseis who caught him in midair.

"Why are you here Hina-obaa?"

"We wanted to train team eight today, but we haven't had the time to look for Sakura so we thought we could train with you if that's alright?"

"I don't have anything to do today," Haku offered.

"Right, let's go to training ground three." Sasuke said as he positioned Akira on his hip. "Zabuza, we're borrowing Haku-chan for now."

"Go ahead, it's not like you asked for my permission anyways." The sword wielding shinobi grumbled in reply.

"I'll be back soon tou-chan," she went to her father and kissed his masked cheek.

"Take care of Akira."

"Don't worry I will," she turned back to the team waiting for her. "Come on Shino-kun, I'll race you to the training ground." She beamed widely at the bug user before disappearing in a display of pure speed. Shino shook his head but took after her anyway.

"I think Shino's got a crush on your daughter Zabuza," Sasuke told the tall man.

"I know, he already told me he wanted to 'pursue' a relationship with her," Zabuza glared at the Uchiha.

"Well doesn't he work fast?" Hinata smiled fondly at her students as she watched Kiba and Akamaru try to look for their supposed teammates. "Come on Sasuke, we shouldn't keep them waiting."

* * *

**AN: Tell me what you think ne? I promise I shall be revealing some of the things in the next chappy. This is a sort of a filler chapter.**

**Lots of love,  
**

**Allie  
**


	17. Chapter 16

**AN: Here's the next chapter my dearest readers..**

* * *

"The Kyuubi is free," Natsu told her husband as they sat on the couch in their apartment. Their children had stayed with their respective friends and partners which left the two alone to talk. The silver haired man gaped at his petite wife whose belly had become more rounded as her pregnancy progressed. Even at four months her stomach was still quite small.

"What are you talking about?"

"Kyuu-chan has told you that we first met when I was two and I was being attacked, right?"

"She also said it was the first time you met Sasuke."

"What she didn't tell you was the effect her chakra had done to my body."

"What do you mean?"

"When she blasted her chakra into me, the seal couldn't filter it all. It opened a small hole in my chakra coils which caused a leakage of youki. Since I've had her in me since I was a baby, I was in no danger."

"But youkai is poisonous for humans like us."

"Like I said, it only caused a leakage, small enough that I didn't even feel its effect until later on. The chakra had accelerated my growth both physically and mentally which is why I am now a twenty year old woman even though I'm only ten."

"What does this have to do with Kyuubi being free?"

"When I was four, Kyuu-chan and I finally noticed the leak but by that time I'd already absorbed five tails worth of her chakra. If that had continued she would've disappeared into nothingness within the next two years."

"So what did you do?"

"I studied seals to find out how I could extract her from me without killing both of us."

"And you found a way to do just that?"

"I did, it took me another half year but I did it and on my fifth birthday I freed her. She's been in Makai ever since leading her pack."

"Is that why you can summon her?"

"Yes," she nodded in agreement as he began running his hand through her bright blonde locks. "Sealed demons cannot be summoned because they are bound to their hosts by their seals."

"I'm guessing that's not the only reason you're telling me this."

"The chakra had another side effect," she mumbled quietly as she broke free of his hold and stood up in front of him. "It accelerated my growth but it also did this to my body because the youkai was still fox demon." She added as she moved her fingers to do the fox hand sign. There was a slight shift of the air, a shimmer of light as the guise dropped to reveal her actual physical features. "It's called a 'glimmer'," she explained as her husband once again gaped at her. "It uses youkai which is why you couldn't see past it." she murmured as he stared at the new form.

"Oh Natsu," he gasped as he stood from his seat on the couch. A pair of blonde fox ears perched atop her head flattened across the golden locks in shame, six white-tipped yellow tails swished behind her as she stood under his scrutiny. "Beautiful." He whispered as he crossed the distance between them and captured her in his embrace. Slitted blue eyes widened at the exclamation as she stared in shock at her mate. "Did you really think you could chase me away because of this?"

"…"

"You've shown me your secret, now let me show you mine," he stepped back as he too revealed his actual form. Cerulean pools widened in surprise for there standing before her was a two tailed humanoid-wolf.

"Kashi?"

"Unlike foxes, wolves are actual shape shifters." He said as the twin silver tails vanished into his body, his wolf ears doing the same atop his head. "I don't need a genjutsu to hide because I can change into any form I want to," he demonstrated his ability by shifting into his actual wolf form. He stood up to her chest on four legs, two black-tipped tails swishing lazily behind him as twin onyx orbs regarded his mate's reaction.

"How?" her monosyllabic responses were amusing him but he answered anyway still in his wolf form.

"The Hatake is a branch from the demon wolf clan that was disbanded centuries ago. Not every Hatake has awakened the ability to shape shift. In actuality before my clan dwindled in the two ninja wars, only four were ever recorded to have the ability to change physical forms. I was the last one." He reverted to his human form and held his hand out to her. He led them both back onto the couch with Natsu lying on top of him, her head on his chest. "Is there anything more you needed to tell me?" he asked as he played with her tails absentmindedly.

"I'm rebuilding Whirlpool."

"Is that what Zabuza meant when he told the Hokage that the Demon Brothers were supposed to be training the ninja that were accepted into the ranks?" he was strangely calm as he questioned her.

"At the moment, he's the military head with the Demon Brothers being his deputies."

"What about Itachi?"

"He's my spy inside the Akatsuki."

"Which leads me to another question, what's the Akatsuki?"

"It's a group of S-rank missing ninja that strive to capture all the tailed beasts, for what we still don't know."

"Do you know who the members are?"

"Deidara the mad bomber, Sasori of the red sand, Kakuzu and Hidan the immortals, Kisame Hoshigaki a former swordsman of the mist, a man who calls himself Pein, the only woman dubbed as the Angel of the Akatsuki – Konan and a half man half Venus-fly trap person called Zetsu. Orochimaru had also been a member but he disappeared for some reason, we haven't been able to find him since."

"What of their abilities?"

"Itachi-nii has a record of all their strength and weaknesses but he has also been able to recruit Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan and Kisame."

"Why are you rebuilding Whirlpool?"

"It's my mom's home village," she told him. "The third ninja war is coming and Konoha is threatened from both sides. Kiri and Iwa will no doubt join forces when the time comes, Ame is neutral but it is the current base of the Akatsuki so that wouldn't stay for long, Suna has gotten weaker because of the third Kazekage's foolishness and as of now they're our only ally and there are whispers of an upcoming village by the Land of Rice."

"How do you know these things?"

"I've been out of the village since I began training with Sasu-nii and Hina-nee. We've been gaining friends and allies anywhere we had missions and that is how I've gained my spies."

"When did you start the rebuilding of Whirlpool?"

"Just last year," she whispered beginning to doze off at her mate's ministrations.

"How far have you gotten?"

"The village is up and running though the people are only few."

"How?"

"Kage bunshins are very useful," she sounded almost smug even as she smothered a yawn.

"I'm guessing that village will be able to accept the refugees that will no doubt be left by the war?"

"That was the plan," she confessed. "I've been training the sand trio to become the new leaders for the village."

"Leaders, as in not only one?"

"No, I don't want the new village to be governed by only one person. In all our history, not just Konoha but the other major villages as well, the reason for fights and meaningless deaths had been the leaders. Let's take the bloodline purge in Mist as an example, the Mizukage had been so afraid that someone might usurp the throne from him he ordered all the clans with bloodlines be killed. Here in Konoha, it began at the founding. The fight between the Senju and the Uchiha for being the first hokage had come back only five years ago."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you really think Aniki could kill the whole Uchiha clan by himself? Even as an ANBU captain he couldn't have done that alone when more than half of the Uchiha were ninjas themselves."

"So what happened then?"

"The Uchiha had been planning to overthrow jii-jii. They believed that as Uchiha, they were destined to be the leaders of the village. If they had succeeded, all the other clans would've become slaves at their feet. Aniki was loyal to the hokage, he was the heir so of course they would've believed that he was working for them but he reported everything to jii-jii. That night, Itachi-aniki with his ANBU squad and the Reapers wiped out the whole Uchiha clan down to the last mother and child."

"Why was everyone killed?"

"The arrogance within the clan was far too gone even in the children. They were taught that they should lead the village because it was their right as Uchiha." She sighed drowsily before continuing. "This is why I don't want a single person having all the power to themselves; they tend to become greedy. With three leaders, they can practice the majority vote for when they come to disagreements or at least compromise for what is best for their people."

"That's a very good plan but where does that leave us?"

"I'll be training the kids to be the new leader so that I don't have to step up," she murmured. "If you haven't noticed, they are already doing very well in taking charge during missions."

"They are exceptionally gifted when it comes to the battles we encounter."

"They'll grow even stronger as long as we keep their training up." she yawned widely, unable to stop it this time.

"I think it's time for nap," Kakashi said as he moved to rise from the couch. The blonde didn't answer she had already drifted off to sleep.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Haku-chan, I wonder if we could convince the senseis to let you become a permanent member of team 8," a boy wearing an oversized coat told a kimono-wearing girl. The pair sat under a tree's shade on their training ground as they watched the dog nin and his partner fool around while they waited for their teachers.

"I don't know Shino-kun," she replied. "Natsu-obaa said she needed us outside still and besides I don't think tou-san would leave me behind. We can still ask though."

"Kiba-kun!" a blue blur barrelled onto the dog nin who had been about to launch himself at his canine partner. The two rolled on the ground, Kiba unable to stop his momentum until they stopped with the blue haired boy on top of him.

"Akira, what are you doing here?"

"Tou-san asked me to come here while he and Hina-obaa and Sasu-jii talked." The green eyed boy kissed the shaggy brunet's cheek before hopping off and skipping towards his sister. "Haku-nee, Shino-nii what are you guys doing?"

"Nothing Akira-chan, we're just talking," Haku told the young boy who proceeded to sit on Shino's lap, disregarding the bugs that crawled all over the nin's body.

"Um, excuse me," Kiba rose from his position on the ground as an unsure voice floated towards him. His gaze landed on a shock of pink that were walking towards the training ground.

"Sakura, is that you?" he stood there waiting impatiently for the bubblegum haired girl to walk towards him.

"Are Hinata-sensei or Sasuke-sensei here?"

"They haven't arrived yet but I'm sure they'll come around soon."

"Ohayou team!" the lavender eyed woman was strangely cheerful as she popped into the training ground.

"Sensei, Sakura's here." Kiba said before anyone can say anything. The three under the tree stood and began walking towards the group.

"Sensei, I just wanted to tell you that I've resigned as a ninja." The jade eyed girl whispered, unwilling to look the woman in the eyes. "While you were on the mission to Wave, I sought out Kurenai-sensei, Yuugao-sensei and Anko-sensei. They opened my eyes to the actual job of a kunoichi and I realized that I really wasn't meant to be one. I started working at the hospital under Yamagoto-sensei and she told me that I had a knack for healing. I've decided to become a doctor or maybe I could be a medic nin but I won't be fighting in the frontlines."

"What about your mother?"

"She disowned me after I told her that I was giving up on Sasuke-sensei and that I already love somebody else."

"Where are you staying now?"

"Don't worry about me Hinata-sensei, I get by. It's difficult but I can work my way through."

"Alright Sakura, I'm happy that you've made your decision though not so much about the results. What do you plan on doing about your mother?"

"I'm reporting her to hokage-sama. I've found more incriminating evidence of what she's been doing while she was on the council. At first, I couldn't believe what you told me about her but when I saw everything she was hiding, I couldn't refuse what my eyes were seeing. Please, don't call her my mother again, I've been disowned and actually I'm happy about it."

"I'm still worried, where are you staying now?"

"I'm with a friend." She smiled at her once sensei. "I'm sorry Hinata-sensei, Shino-san and Kiba-san but I'm going to be late for my shift at the hospital."

"Goodbye Sakura-san," Shino said as she rushed off.

"See you guys around."

"Haku-chan, I spoke to your father about being a permanent member of team 8." The dark haired heiress turned her attention towards the girl holding her younger brother's hand. "He agreed but he said that he would have to leave Akira here too."

"I thought Natsu-obaa said she needed us out of the village still?"

"She only needs your father outside to lead the troops and the rebuilding but you and Akira aren't exactly needed there."

"Where would we stay?"

"You're staying with me and Sasuke-jii." She informed her. "Let's go to the hokage tower to make it official."

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"We'll be gone for the next week and a half jii-jii," a petite blonde woman told the aged leader of Village hidden in the Leaves. Natsu with her husband and children stood at attention as they told him of their plans for their week long vacation.

"Would you mind telling me where you and your family are going?"

"I'd rather not, that way when someone asks you can tell them that you really don't know."

"Very well, have a safe journey."

"Arigatou jii-jii!" Gaara bounded over to the old man, encasing him in a bear hug as he did. "I promise we'll bring something back for you." There was a knock on the door before he could reply.

"Hokage-sama, team 8 is here."

"Send them in."

"Natsu are you going somewhere?" Hinata asked her sister as soon as she saw her with her family who looked ready to take off.

"We're going on vacation Hina-obaa," the smaller blonde answered as she trailed jade eyes towards her friend who was holding hands with the bug user. "Is there something you're not telling me Haku-chan?" she asked the Hyoton user with a teasing smile.

"It's nothing you need to know at the moment," Haku leaned her head against Shino's shoulders to prove her point.

"Okay, not right now but as soon as we get back."

"Would you mind telling Sasuke-nii, Zabuza-nii and Itachi-nii?" Natsu asked her sister.

"No problem," the Hyuuga heiress smiled at her. "It's about time so you guys go."

"Thank you," she encased the future Uchiha matriarch in a hug before walking back towards her mate.

"Ready?" the silver haired man asked his wife as soon as she took his hand in hers.

"Yes."

"We'll see you guys soon." The family of five disappeared in a bright yellow flash that left the group gaping.

"She never ceases to amaze me," Sarutobi commented. "It doesn't matter how many times I see her use that technique, I will always be shocked."

"No matter what, she's still the number one most unpredictable ninja." Hinata smiled at their grandfather figure. "We're here on business Hokage-sama." She switched onto her professional mode.

"I see, what do you have for me?"

"Sakura has told me that she's resigned from the ninja roster," she continued as he nodded. "This leaves my team short of a member."

"Is that why Haku is here?"

"Yes, we want Haku to be the new team member for Team 8."

"Do Natsu and Zabuza know about this?"

"They've both agreed."

"Very well, as of this moment Haku Momochi is the third genin on the genin cell Team 8. I shall have your papers ready for signing tomorrow, come back then so we can put you on record as an official Konoha ninja."

"Arigatou hokage-sama."

"Will you be taking any missions today?"

"Not today Hokage-sama, we'll be training."

"Alright, I'll see your team tomorrow at nine."

"Hai!" the group walked out of his office, leaving him to his most hated enemy: paperwork.

* * *

**AN: So, so, so? What did you think of the revelations on this one? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Please and thank you! **

**Lots of love, **

**Allie :)**


	18. Chapter 17

**AN: Hello my dearest readers. I'm sorry for the long wait but I've been stuck on this chapter for a while. But, here it is. I own nothing but the plot. **

* * *

The warmth of the sand seeped into her stressed body, the towel doing nothing to shield her from the heat of the golden grains as she lay down beneath an umbrella watching their children play. Only two days had passed since they left the village: one to travel the other to rest – and now they've finally settled enough to start their vacation.

"No fair, Gaara!" a teal eyed blonde about four feet five inches pointed her finger at a red haired boy with equally green eyes. "You can't use chakra!" she squealed as a thin tendril rose from her feet to swat at her index finger.

"Anything goes Mari-chan," a dark haired boy bereft of the war paint and the cat-like suit he usually wore sat somewhere in between the distance of the twins. He sat down where the water met sand, his blue swim shorts getting darker as it got wet.

"We never said that!" the girl was indignant as her brothers ganged up on her. The redhead walked towards the oldest and sat beside him while their sister marched up toward their mother.

"Tou-chan!" the two boys shouted in unison as they went under a gigantic splash of water.

"Ha!" the blonde pointed haughtily at the pair as a silver haired man with twin onyx orbs emerged from the sea and started walking towards her.

"You won't get away from ganging up on my princess," he told the spluttering duo as he swung his daughter to sit up on his shoulders. She squealed happily at the attention while her brothers sat pouting on the beach. "Come on you two let's go check up on your mother." At the mention of their other parent, the wet pair stood up, shook their heads to get rid of the water from their hair and ears and ran up to the blonde woman smiling softly at the scene.

"Kaa-chan, did you see what tou-chan did to us?" the redheaded ball of energy asked as he climbed into his mother's lap.

"Yes, I did Gaara-chan," she chuckled lightly, the cerulean pools glinting with mirth.

"He's so mean."

"You were being mean to your sister," she told him as Kankuro along with Kakashi who still had Temari on his shoulders took their places surrounding her. Her husband sat behind her, wrapping his arms around both of them, his legs encasing them in a protective embrace as their other two children sat on both sides of her.

"How are you feeling?" his husky voice reached her even when their children began to babble.

"Happy," she turned her head to look at him and he captured her lips in a sweet, chaste kiss.

"Kaa-chan, what are we going to do next?" inquisitive brown eyes turned to their parents as the owner asked.

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's go to the festival!" three voices sounded in unison.

"We can go there tonight, it's only noon," the copy Nin said decisively.

"Hey boss, lunch is here." The family of five turned to speaker - behind them stood a clone of the patriarch.

"Thanks." The shadow clone nodded, gave them the food packages then dispelled itself.

"Eat up then we can go back to swim."

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"It seems you're doing well with team 8 Haku-chan," the aged leader commented as the genin cell reported another successful mission.

"We've had no problems with her Hokage-sama," their lavender eyed sensei replied.

"Would you like another mission?"

"I think we've had enough missions for this week." With his dark hair and equally dark eyes, their other sensei was handsome even as he spoke formally with their leader.

"Actually you've had enough missions for the next two months," the chunin assigned to give out the missions to all squads commented making the two senseis smirk.

"Is there something I'm missing?" confusion dawned on the old man's face as he stared at the team.

"Natsu," The partners, not only as teachers but as lovers as well, said in unison.

"Alright, I'll wait 'til she gets back home with her family."

"It's only been five days Hokage-sama," dark hair pulled up into a bun, grey eyes that looked solemn even as she smiled glinted as the newest member of the team spoke.

"It's already too long for me." He admitted.

"They'll be back soon jii-jii, you should rest while you can because there's sure to be havoc when they return." She continued to smile at him.

"I think I'll do that Haku-chan."

"Can we go now? I need to see Akira-chan."

"Of course, of course, team 8 you're dismissed."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the group filed out of the room, the "shadow" of Konoha smiling wistfully as he watched them leave.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"This is not an appropriate place to bring children into," with her hands on her waist, her slightly protruding stomach and three children surrounding her, the small blonde looked like a 'woman scorned' as she glared at her husband who had been leading them towards a tavern/bar.

"I know that but we're all exhausted and it's a little too late to find good restaurants here. Besides, our children are all ninjas so we won't have any problems getting in."

"Kaa-chan, I'm hungry." A small voice, most probably due to their parents' argument, spoke up.

"I'm hungry too, kaa-chan," another voice said. "And I'm sleepy," red hair splayed upon his head, teal eyes hazed with drowsiness convinced the cerulean eyed woman to agree with her husband, for now.

"Fine, we'll go get something to eat while my clone looks for a hotel or an inn."

"You're not supposed to~" the silver haired man's protest was cut off by the venomous glare once more directed at him.

"I'm only four months pregnant Kakashi," she hissed. "I'm not an invalid."

"I'm sorry." He hung his head, for once listening to his instincts about his mate's hormonal mood swings. He turned to their children only to find that his eldest son had already taken his siblings to a table. "Come on." He offered her hand to her which she took albeit grudgingly.

"Isn't that~?" she froze in mid-step as she stared at the blonde woman sitting on the table right next to their children.

"Is that Tsunade-sama?" Kakashi asked in shock.

"Kaa-chan, tou-chan are you gonna stand there all night?" the cheerful voice of their youngest son broke through their surprised stares.

"Let's get something to eat first before we confront her," he whispered to her as he wrapped an arm around her waist and steered her through the doors toward their children's table.

"Kaa-chan isn't that baa-chan with nee-chan over there?" the gruff voice of their eldest interrupted the quiet as they ate.

"How do you know her?" both parents asked simultaneously.

"Busted," the twins said together.

"Kankuro, tell me everything now." The blonde was a scary woman when normal but add hormones to the mix and she becomes terrifying.

"When you were out with the twins in Makai," he sighed deeply before continuing. "They used to come back to this dimension so they could train me. How did you think we could coordinate all our attacks?"

"So that's why they've been leaving on trips by themselves." Natsu pondered. "Which means Shu-kun knew about this and he didn't tell me. He's dead." She declared.

"Don't be mad at him kaa-chan," Temari asked her mother. "You said we couldn't leave without supervision and you really didn't want us jumping dimensions like that but we couldn't stand leaving Kankuro-niichan behind."

"Besides if we hadn't done what we had, we would've left him in the dust." The teal-eyed redhead said with a smirk.

"Shut it Gaara."

"It's true though." Temari intervened before the argument could escalate.

"Don't you want to talk to her?" Gaara asked her mother.

"We'll talk to her when we finish eating."

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Hina-obaa, have you found out anything about Akira-chan's ability?" her long dark hair cascaded down her back as she spoke.

"Actually, your jiji did find something in the Uchiha library." The pair was seated on the couch in the living room of the Uchiha home. They had moved into one of the houses within the compound as soon as they had gotten Haku and Akira under their wing.

"How come it's in their files?"

"The Uchiha clan was paranoid, especially their head Sasu-jii's father so he made sure to record all know abilities and bloodlines whether they be from Konoha or not. Fortunately, those were stored in a vault underneath the clan house where only an Uchiha could get in."

"So what do we know about it?"

"It seems like what Akira has is neither a doujutsu nor a bloodline. It's simply an ability much like ninjutsu though he doesn't need to channel chakra to activate it."

"Huh?"

"I know, I was also confused at first but when your uncle explained it to me I understood."

"Are you familiar with Natsu-obaa's demonic abilities?" she continued as the girl nodded. "Well, in the beginning of the formation of our team she couldn't control her powers. They would only react to her emotions because she hadn't trained with them yet. It's similar to what Akira has. He doesn't have an extra source of chakra or anything of the sort, everything we've seen so far had all been his doing."

"So he can't control it and it only comes out when he feels strong emotions?"

"Yes," the Hyuuga heiress replied. "Akira's ability has been dubbed Angelical Creations because of the multicoloured chakra and the manifestation of wings. What it does is, it gives the user near unlimited stamina and a burst in strength, speed and power but it does have it's drawbacks. If one hasn't been trained to properly use it then it could shorten their lives."

"How can we train him then?"

"Fortunately we don't have to worry about that yet. Your uncle is already looking for a way to train him with other people seeing because they would surely exploit him."

"I won't let that happen to him."

"I'm sure you won't and you have us as well to protect him."

"Come on you two," Sasuke came out down the stairs in a pair of dark pants and a blue shirt under his jounin vest. "Shino and Kiba must already be waiting for us."

"Akira-chan it's time to go!" Haku shouted through the open door towards the garden where the blue haired boy had been playing.

"Really?" he zipped through the house with speed that surprised the other occupants. "We're seeing Kiba-chan now?"

"It's way too early for you to have a crush," the elder sister whispered at her four year old brother's eagerness to see the dog nin.

"It's not a crush," Sasuke told her. "He just admires Kiba."

"Believe me oji-san I know what I'm saying." She held her hand out to the boy bouncing around the living room. "Come on Akira-chan, let's go before those two start arguing or something," she led the way out of the house, the adults following closely behind her.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Come on Kankuro, let's go!"

"Fine alright, I'm coming!" the dark haired boy shouted in return. He stepped out of the room he and his siblings shared within the hotel and walked down to the lobby where the rest of the group were already waiting for him.

"What took you so long?" impatient as ever, his redheaded brother glared angrily at him.

"I was making sure that **you** didn't leave anything behind. Kami knows how messy you are."

"Stop arguing you two," their blonde mother chided them. "Baa-chan, you sure you wanna come back to Konoha?"

"Of course I am," The older blonde said. "I'm going back to make sure nothing happens to you during and after your pregnancy **and** to keep that perverted teammate of mine away from you."

"I really do need someone to help me through this," Natsu nodded thoughtfully. "Especially since Kakashi and I decided that we wanted to move to the clan house before the baby comes."

"You're moving into your father's house, aren't you? What will happen to the Hatake clan house then?"

"We haven't talked about it yet," it was Kakashi who said it. "Anyway, is everyone ready to go? We're due back in Konoha in a few hours."

"We're ready tou-chan," the twins piped together.

"Why can't I just Hiraishin us there?"

"You've been stressing yourself," Tsunade said. "If you do it anymore you'll be putting both you and the baby in danger."

"Fine," she pouted. "But we're not going through any bars or gambling places."

"Natsu~"

"If I don't get to do what I want then you won't either."

"Damn gaki," the older blonde muttered. "See if I ever tried to help you again."

"It's not like I ever needed your help," the venomous words were whispered in reply. "I've been doing fine ever since I could walk; it was you who wanted to be in my life. Wasn't it you who said that godmother?"

"Natsu, I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what did you mean?" she snapped at the slug princess. "Come find me when you finally stop feeling sorry for yourself." She grabbed her husband's arm and motioned for her children to come closer.

"Don't do it Natsu."

"I don't need you," cerulean glared angrily at chocolate brown. "I don't need your help whether it be with my pregnancy or my perverted _**godfather**_. I have people who would love to be there for me, people who won't take advantage of me and protect me even at the cost of their own happiness. **I don't need you.**" As soon as Gaara had his hand in hers, the family disappeared in a bright yellow flash leaving a gaping Shizune and a teary-eyed Tsunade.

"What have I done?"

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Go unpack your things," a pair of dark eyes looked carefully at their distraught partner. He had known the encounter wouldn't do any of them any good but still he thought she should at least try to mend fences.

"Tou-chan," his redheaded son asked. He hadn't moved a muscle since they arrived at the apartment via shunshin. "Is kaa-chan gonna be okay?" he sniffled lightly, rubbing teal eyes as he tried to refrain from crying.

"She'll be fine," he took the boy into his arms and let him lay his head on his shoulder. "She just needs time but she'll be fine. Why don't you go get your siblings? I think she needs all of us with her tonight." Gaara nodded as his father let him down. He rushed to the room he and siblings shared as Kakashi turned his attention back to his wife who'd been sitting on the couch staring at nothing. "Natsu," he sat beside his woman and captured her in a comforting embrace.

"Do you think I was too harsh on her Kakashi?" she looked uncertain, obviously regretting her choice of words.

"I think you were," he agreed. "But she needed to hear everything you had to say. You had the right to say what you did to her after they both abandoned you. They, on the other hand, don't have the right to come barging into your life now that you've grown when they weren't there when you needed them most."

"I don't want to hurt anyone," she turned her head onto his shoulder, hiding her tears from his prying eyes.

"Sometimes you can't help it," he rubbed her back soothingly as he spoke in a gentle tone. "There comes a time when a person is just too full of anger and hurt that they can't control their emotions. It's just like a volcano waiting to explode and you've been harbouring those feelings since you were two."

"I still can't help but feel as if it's my fault that she's hurting."

"It's not your fault Natsu," Kakashi assured her. "You have to know that she's been hurting even before she met you. Nawaki and Dan were taken from her under difficult circumstances so it's not surprising that she's afraid to believe in someone else again. But still, it's not enough for her to abandon the only link she has to her family."

"Kaa-chan, you shouldn't cry," the small voice intruded in their conversation but they didn't mind. "It's not good for you or the baby." The gentle chiding reached out to her heart but she took it in stride.

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to apologize about," Kakashi assured her.

"Ne, kaa-chan don't worry," she broke free from her husband's embrace to take her youngest into her arms. "We're your family and you'll always have us with you."

* * *

**AN:**

**So what did you think? Some family time as suggested.  
**

**Tell me please?  
**

**Allie  
**


	19. Chapter 18

**AN: I am soooooo sorry for the long wait but I've been busy with school work and such and had a little difficulty finding the inspiration to continue.. But here it is anyways! **

* * *

"Great job Akira-chan!" the gentle voice praised the blue haired child standing in the middle of the training field. He had a pair of pure white angel wings on his back, bright green eyes that shone determinedly even when their owner panted tiredly.

"Really Natsu-obaa?"

"Of course," the blonde woman praised the small boy. "You've been doing better since you started your training with Sasu-jii."

"Ne, ne," the boy rubbed his cheek before asking, "Obaa-chan should you really be here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're tummy's so big now!" the six year-old gushed. "And Hinata-obaa said that you're gonna have the baby soon!" he continued as he rushed toward her.

"Hinata-obaa is right," she patted the spot next to her so that Akira could sit. "You'll meet your cousin soon." She rubbed her rounded belly as the boy snuggled close to her warm body. "Kakashi-jii is excited and so am I." she relayed but Akira had already dosed off with his head leaning on her arm. Smiling fondly at the small child, she laid his head on her lap and ran slender fingers through dark blue locks. She closed her eyes, let herself feel the sun on her tan face. At seven months, she was still mobile to the protest of all those who loved her but she wouldn't budge. The pregnancy had been good so far, no complications and such but she was still vigilant. "I miss Kakashi." She sighed dreamily as she too dosed off, unaware of the danger lurking around.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"The kyuubi brat and the boy are asleep," hushed whispers assaulted her sensitive ears.

"We should attack now while they are defenceless." Another voice answered the voice so soft it was almost impossible to hear.

"Now's not the time," she muttered, her voice softer than theirs. "Damn, Kashi where are you?" she could sense them move towards her and Akira; without showing them that she was awake, she shook him gently.

"Natsu-obaa?" he rubbed his eyes sleepily from being woken up. "What's going on?" he took in the worried expression and knew immediately something was up. He had been around experienced ninjas enough to know how to sense danger.

"Can you sense them Akira-chan?"

"Who are they?" he asked, his entire form freezing in fear.

"I don't know Akira-chan," she replied as she rubbed his arms comfortingly. They were close; they wouldn't be able to avoid a confrontation. "But I need your help okay? Natsu-obaa can't fight properly because I have to protect your baby cousin, do you think you could help me?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to open your wings and wrap them around us both as soon as they pass the tree you had been training on. Do you think you can do that Akira-chan?" the intruders moved faster, their leaps getting longer. They were so close but the nod she received from the boy was relieving.

"Time to die!" three men masked as ANBU flashed through handsigns simultaneously as they jumped from the tree line.

"Now Akira-chan!" Natsu ordered as soon as they landed. Pure white angel wings opened outward just in time to catch the full brunt of the combined jutsu the ANBU had thrown at them. "I'm sorry Akira-chan, can you bear with it just a little longer?" she forced him to look her in the eyes even as he grunted in pain.

"Obaa-chan, I can't hold it."

"It's okay Akira-chan; you tried to protect us both."

"No, I won't let my baby cousin get hurt!" his eyes flashed with determination as they were surrounded by a multi coloured flare of chakra.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Hokage-sama, mission accomplished!" the silver haired team leader announced as he and his team stood in front of the hokage.

"Thank you for bringing back my student Kakashi," this was not an official mission, more like a paid errand.

"We had no trouble~" there was a flare of familiar chakra that had all occupants of the room turning toward the source.

"It's Akira!" the urgent voice of the only female genin broke through the shock. "They're in trouble, he never uses that chakra unless it's an emergency!" she continued but before she could finish Kakashi had disappeared, no swirl of leaves, no flash of light, he simply faded into non-existence.

"I have a bad feeling about this." The aged leader said even as he rose from his seat. Without an order the group left in a collective shunshin.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Natsu!" Kakashi wrapped his arms around the pair struggling to withstand the assault of the combo. He turned around as soon as he had them encased in his protective embrace and flared his chakra to stop the attack. Without a warning he flashed to the other side of the training ground, well away from the attackers and set the pair down.

"Kashi, how did you get here?"

"Our mark," was all he said as he turned his back on them and flashed through hand signs. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"he announced as he slammed his hand on the ground. As the smoke cleared, it revealed his pack all ready to assist him.

"Kakashi, take Bull, Bisuke and Shiba with you," his brown pug told him. "The rest of us will guard your mate."

"Take care of them Pakkun."

"Hai!" with that the silver haired nin with his three ninken rushed off to battle against those who were stupid enough to try and harm his mate.

"Natsu-sama, are you alright?"

"I'm fine Pakkun," the blonde said dismissively. "Although I am worried about Akira," She motioned to the boy who had passed out on her as soon as he was protected by her husband. Her hand glowed green and she began to heal the boy but she was stopped by her husband's personal summons.

"You will endanger your pup if you continue that," his tone left no room for arguments and she sighed wearily. "The rest are on their way, I can already smell their scents." He relayed.

"But…"

"The pup is alright Natsu-sama," the small dog assured her. "He's just exhausted his chakra."

"Natsu-obaa!" panicked and worried, the long haired female genin rushed towards the pair as soon as her feet touched the ground. "What happened?" no handsigns were needed as she ran her hand across her younger brother's body, glowing green with healing energy.

"Natsu-sensei/kaa-chan!" the other genin surrounded them, the ninken moving away with enough space to protect them still.

"We're fine," blue eyes shone serenely at her students and children as she assured them. "Akira-chan did great; he protected us both."

"Who are they?" her eldest asked her, his dark brown eyes shining with malice as he glared at the masked ninja who were fighting their senseis.

"Root," was all she said and yet they all understood. At the age of ten to fourteen, they were already battle hardened shinobi who sought to protect those they cared about.

"What the hell do they want?" shaggy brown hair swished as the dog nin turned his attention to their blonde sensei.

"They want the Kyuubi dead." Natsu said knowing they needed to know and wouldn't stop asking her until they did.

"Kaa-chan," the small voice was contemplative and slightly hesitant. "Didn't you already kill Danzou?" she turned her attention to her second son in shock.

"Shouldn't the Root ANBU be disbanded?" another voice, softer than their male counterpart's but similarly inquisitive.

"So who's leading them?" the puppeteer asked watching as his friend finished healing her younger brother.

"The civilian council," quiet as always, the glasses-wearing shinobi spoke for the first time since they arrived.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Hinata!"

"Water style: water bullets!" three large bullets launched out of her outstretched palm directed at the other two masked shinobi.

"Chidori stream," her dark haired counterpart announced as his body crackled with lightning. He pushed his hands outward directing the stream of lightning toward the water bullets. They reached their target effectively electrocuting the two unknown shinobi leaving them shaking on the ground.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"What do you want from my wife?" two Sharingan eyes bore through the white porcelain mask his captive wore.

"The council wants her dead." The man replied calmly.

"Which council?" his hold on the man's neck tightened as he growled.

"She should've been killed." He was slammed against the wall, his mask cracking in a few places. "Demon scum," his neck snapped in two easily under the rage-driven strength of the Copy Ninja.

"Never talk about my wife that way." Although it was too late for the man, he felt the need to say it anyway.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"I see my minions did not do their job," the sneering voice cut into their group's conversation. The genin stood around Natsu and Akira protectively, the ninken growling their warning.

"Haruno," Natsu hissed.

"Kyuubi whore."

"What the hell do you want?" the genin tensed for action as their sensei spoke to the woman and began to stand up.

"I want you dead."

"Why?"

"You took everything from me!" the woman shouted. "My husband died trying to protect this damn village, my daughter as well."

"Daughter?" was the collective question of the group.

"Sakura's not mine," she snorted in disgust. "Sayuri, my real daughter with my beloved husband died when our house collapsed on top of her during the Kyuubi attack." Unbeknownst to them, there was another person eavesdropping on their conversation. "Itsushi did not father that spineless girl who calls herself my daughter."

"You know I'm not the Kyuubi, Haruno."

"I don't know that for sure," she sneered angrily, long pink hair swishing behind her as she shook her head. "You may have been taken over by the beast for all we know." She shrugged her shoulders as she stared into cerulean.

"So you want to kill me because your husband and child were killed during the Kyuubi attack?"

"That's not all," she laughed mirthlessly. "Killing you would be the ultimate revenge against Kushina."

"Haruno-san, why am I not surprised?" the aged leader who had stayed hidden revealed himself along with a blonde haired woman and a brunette holding a pig.

"H-h-hokage-sama!" the pink haired woman stared in shock.

"What do you think you're doing?" this time it was the student who asked, her chocolate orbs boring into deep green.

"I am simply doing what should've been done long ago." The former council member stated when she regained her composure.

"And what, pray tell, is that?"

"That demon bitch should've been killed while she was still a baby!" she pointed haughtily at the blonde woman cradling a blue haired child.

"Just because my son did not choose you as his wife, it doesn't mean you can take your anger on their daughter," chocolate brown darkened as she glared at the pink haired woman. "They were in love."

"He could've taken me as his second wife!" she argued. "He should've been under the CRA!"

"It was his choice not to take it because he loved Kushina."

"I should've been his wife!"

"So, all these years you've been trying to kill me because you couldn't get into my father's pants?" Natsu asked in disbelief. "It's not my fault he didn't like you."

"Shut up!" she rounded on the pregnant woman, green eyes blazing with anger. "You have no idea what it feels like to lose the man you love to a woman from some Kami- forsaken village. Your bitch of a mother should have never been in this village, then maybe I could've been his wife!"

"Listen to yourself, Yakiko," the older blonde tried to reason. "You've let the jealousy overcome you; you have a beautiful daughter you should be taking care of."

"That child is not mine!" she protested. "She's Itsushi's twin brother's child. She and Sayuri should've grown together as cousins maybe closer but the Kyuubi took that from me as well. I took her in when her parents died protecting this village. She's not mine!"

"Yakiko, just stop this. You won't gain anything from this." Tsunade tried again.

"No, this has been long overdue." She snapped her fingers and in the same instant there were six Root ANBU behind her. "I'll kill the Kyuubi and then I'll kill all of you!" she shouted dramatically. "Dispose of them," was the order she gave to the squad waiting for her command.

"Kankuro," Natsu whispered softly. "Take the other genin and go, you're strong but you're no match for ANBU."

"Kaa-chan, we can't leave you here, not in your condition."

"Take her with you Kankuro," the commanding voice of their team leader said. They all turned back to see that the other three senseis where done with their battle and on their way to the group. "Take your mother and the other genin and go." The silver haired jounin ordered once again. As Natsu opened her mouth to protest, a single look from the dark red eyes of her husband cut her off. "Go."

"Hai," the genin left in their signature shunshin leaving with Natsu and the exhausted Akira.

"Now let's finish this because I have other things to take care of." Kakashi turned his attention to the Root ANBU who had been watching the proceedings silently. "Hinata, take care of Haruno, Sasuke and I will deal with her squad. If you don't mind Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, please leave this to us."

"Very well Kakashi," Sarutobi decided knowing not to interfere when the jounin was in his ANBU mode. "I'll see you back in my office when you've taken everyone to Ibiki and Anko."

"No promises." He growled in reply as he and the two other Reapers charged at their opponents.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"What's wrong with Kakashi-san?" clueless, the brown haired woman asked her superiors.

"He's been like that ever since it was confirmed that Natsu is having twins." Sarutobi said as he sat on his chair rubbing his forehead.

"She's having twins?" his blonde student asked in surprise.

"You didn't know? I thought they met with you when they were on vacation?"

"They did but Natsu and I got into an argument."

"About what?"

"I said something I shouldn't have and promptly made an ass of myself."

"You mentioned something about helping her didn't you?" before she could reply there was a puff of smoke revealing three angry ANBU level ninja.

"That's the third time Root has tried to kill Akira and Natsu!" the usually gentle and quiet heiress exploded.

"Not to mention, that doesn't even include the count for the angry villager mobs since they found out she was pregnant." Sasuke embraced his wife.

"I am sorry Hokage-sama but I cannot let them endanger my family anymore," the silver haired man was sullen as he addressed his leader. "As a ninja of Konoha my loyalty had always been yours but now I have a family to take care of. I would like to resign as an active ninja."

"Are you sure Kakashi?" shocked beyond words Sarutobi asked. "What are you planning to do?"

"We'll move to Uzu," he said. "It's been ready two months after the Wave mission but Natsu chose to stay because she still thinks that the villagers can be redeemed but they have gone too far in attacking both her and Akira."

"Is there anything I say that will change your mind? I would just like to remind you that at this moment Konoha is even weaker than what it was after the Uchiha massacre."

"I am sorry Hokage-sama but again, I choose my family than this damned village that has done nothing for me and has only given my wife pain and grief."

"Very well," the decision was made and they all knew it. "As of this moment Kakashi Hatake is no longer a ninja of Konoha, the same goes for Natsu Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha and Hinata Hyuuga."

"Hokage-sama?" the couple asked.

"I cannot let them go if I do not have someone there that I trust." He sighed heavily.

"What about Konoha?"

"It's been a long time coming," Sarutobi sighed. "This village cannot be redeemed anymore. They have resorted to attacking the innocent and it saddens me to think that this is what Minato had died for. I'm letting you go because this is what I think is right."

"Arigatou hokage-sama!" the three said in unison.

"I'll tell you when you can leave, for now check on Natsu and the genin and make sure they're alright."

"Hai!" the three disappeared, one in a swirl of leaves, the other in a bolt of golden lightning and the only female in a whirlpool of water.

"Tsunade this is not what your grandfather and granduncle imagined the village will be like."

"I know sensei I can't help but think they all died in vain. The hatred runs too deep for the villagers to move on."

"I will call a council meeting tomorrow." He decided. "I'm stepping down as hokage and resigning as a ninja."

"Sensei?"

"I've barely done anything for Natsu, I think it's time I spend more time with my granddaughter."

"But who will take your place?"

"I think it's time Jiraiya comes back."

"Is he really the right person for that?"

"I don't care anymore but making him Hokage will be the ultimate punishment for him." Sarutobi said. "He won't have any more time for 'research' as he calls it."

"What about the spy network?"

"It wasn't his spy network that kept the village afloat, it was Natsu's," he informed his favourite student. "His spies have begun to slack and they were almost always caught."

"And so now that Natsu's leaving then they will obviously follow her lead."

"This village doesn't know just what they're choosing to do. They'll be losing a majority of their strongest ninja because they shunned the only one who brought them all together."

"As of this moment, Konoha is already dead." Outside the window rain started falling, softly at first and then it began to pour until it became a storm. It was as if the former hokages were taking their anger out on the village they founded and given their lives for. "The Will of Fire has long since lost its luster and has now been extinguished."

* * *

**AN: So what did you think?  
**

**Tell me please and no flames. I've received a review stating that my story was so unoriginal and that really got me down. The person didn't even sign in and they said it was pathetic but after the wonderful reviews from my faithful readers I got my mojo back.  
**

**Anywho, lots of love  
**

**Allie  
**


	20. Chapter 19

**AN: Here's the next chapter guys.**

* * *

"Why have you called us here Sarutobi?" haughty as always, Homura asked his old teammate.

"We'll have to wait for the other council members to arrive before I tell you why I've assembled all of you today," the aged hokage gestured to the council room where the absence of the other major ninja clan heads could be seen.

"I knew you couldn't run the village without us." Koharu said in a-matter-of-fact tone. "You were a fool to disassemble the civilian council." Sarutobi shook his head as he tried to hide the amused grin he was sporting. One by one, the major clan heads stepped into the room their expressions hiding what they knew of the upcoming meeting. A few moments later Kakashi, accompanied by a very pregnant Natsu stepped into the council chambers, shocking everyone to silence.

"What are they doing here Sarutobi?" Homura glared at the old man as the civilian side of the council burst into whispers. "This is a council meeting!"

"Quiet Homura!" he glared at his old partner. "I am still Hokage here." He hissed angrily. "I now call this meeting to a start."

"Hokage-sama what is that demo~" the civilian council member trailed off quickly at the intense glares sent in his direction by the shinobi council.

"This meeting was called to inform the village council of a number of things." He ignored the rambling man. "The first key point is the resignation of three clans from the council and the ninja roster."

"Three clans?" Koharu shouted. "You let three clans off the ninja roster?"

"Which clans are these Hokage-sama?" Hiashi asked although he already knew.

"The Hatake clan~" there was an outburst from the civilian side that was promptly ignored. "The Uchiha clan~"

"You cannot let the Uchiha resign!"

"It has been done!" the Kami no Shinobi said sternly. "It cannot be revoked, this is simply an announcement."

"And which clan is the last?"

"The Namikaze clan."

"Lies!" the civilian council erupted into chaos. "There was no heir to the Namikaze clan the Fourth never had a child!"

"Minato did in fact have a daughter," Hiashi said stopping all protest. The Hyuuga patriarch rarely participated in debates during council meetings but when he did, it was sure to be the truth. "I know because I have been taking care of her."

"Who is this child?" Koharu demanded but before anyone could answer her, the Reapers Raven and Tenshi appeared dragging a white haired man wearing a red vest and a head plate with the kanji for toad sage.

"Hokage-sama, mission accomplished!" the two announced as they threw the man towards Sarutobi's feet.

"Well done Raven and Tenshi," he nodded at the pair. "Please join the other council heads." The two nodded as they began to walk towards Natsu and Kakashi while they took off their masks. There was a collective gasp among the civilian crowd as Hinata and Sasuke revealed their faces.

"What is the meaning of this Sarutobi?" his old teammates deemed it necessary to round on him and speak simultaneously.

"You have no say in shinobi matters, remember that." He told them. "As I said before this is merely an announcement. I am retiring as Hokage."

"Then can we have Uchiha-sama as the next Hokage?"

"Shut up!" he shouted as the civilians continued their protest. "It is stated in the laws brought forth by the first and second hokages that I have the right to pass three laws that shall be inviolable. My first law is that those who wish to accompany Hatake-sama, Namikaze-sama, Uchiha-sama and his wife to wherever they please will be relieved of their shinobi duties and become civilians of Konohagakure."

"No one will follow those fools," all eyes turned to the doorway. There stood accompanied by her Root guards, in all her pink-haired glory Yakiko Haruno.

"The Nara clan will follow Namikaze-sama and her family." Shikaku announced as he stood.

"So will the Yamanaka."

"The Akimichi will also follow."

"The main Hyuuga branch and any who wished to will join them."

"I refuse to be left behind," the woman who was more animal than human said. "The Inuzuka clan will also follow."

"You cannot do this!" the pink haired woman screeched.

"You were let out of prison because you were recalled as a council member," Sarutobi glared. "But do not think you are above the rules of these chambers! My laws are absolute. The next one is that no one is allowed to come after them, this shall not be up for revocation even under the next hokage's first three laws."

"Sarutobi, what are you doing?" Homura asked. "Are you purposely weakening the village?"

"Homura and Koharu," their attention was once again stolen by a newcomer. "It seems you old coots haven't changed." Tsunade stepped into the chambers with Shizune carrying a large trunk and Ton-ton trailing after them both.

"Tsunade, you have no right being here."

"I am the sole heir of the Senju clan, of course I have every right to be here." She glared at those who dared oppose her inheritance. "Sensei, please continue."

"Thank you Tsunade, I trust everything is in order?" she simply nodded at her teacher. "Very well, the last law that I pass is that Jiraiya is the next Hokage." He took off his hat and placed it on his still stunned student's head. There was another outburst from the civilian council.

"This is preposterous!"

"Preposterous it may be but it still happened. I, Hiruzen Sarutobi, now declare these laws valid and inviolable. It is punishable by law should there be any violations with regards to these. I am officially retiring as a ninja and taking my clan with me. Congratulations on the promotion Jiraiya." Without waiting for a reply, he and the rest of the ninja council rose from their seats.

"I am not letting you do this!" Haruno Yakiko exclaimed. "Root seize them!"

"You dare attack the ninja council and the hokage?" Sarutobi asked in outrage.

"Once you have decided to follow Hatake and his whore, you have rescinded your rights as council members and you _Sarutobi-sama_ have already resigned as the hokage. You have no right here anymore."

"Well then it's a good thing that Natsu and Kakashi had prepared for this reason as well." Sarutobi smiled widely even as the Root shinobi surrounded him. "Remember this: Konoha shall fall if they try to pursue us." He looked around, watching as the former ninja council was also surrounded.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"How the hell did they hide this from us?"

"We have to catch them!"

"They are enemies of the village, we must eliminate them!"

These were the shouts of rage that followed as soon as the whole ninja council, Tsunade as well the former third hokage disappeared in a collective puff of smoke. The civilian council and the elders instantly burst into screams of frustration and outrage as soon as they were gone.

"QUIET!" the booming voice of the forgotten man echoed across the council room. "Everyone get back to your seats!"

"Who dares shout at the council?" Haruno's screech echoed through the white haired man's eardrums.

"You dare defy the hokage?"

"The hokage has left." She snorted. "Konoha has no leader anymore. Don't try to fool us Jiraiya-_sama_."

"ANBU," Jiraiya began. "Or rather, what's left of the ANBU, get Haruno down to a cell and lock her up. She will be executed for treason."

"Jiraiya-sama you cannot do this!" Koharu and Homura said simultaneously.

"I am Hokage now and what I say goes." The newly appointed Godaime glared at the two elders. "From now on the civilian council is once again disbanded and will never be recalled, you are now dismissed." He ignored the calls and shouts that followed his decision. "You are not needed here, leave immediately." His killing intent flared sending them scurrying like mice, "And you two," he turned his attention to the elders. "You have been tried and found guilty for treason, you are to be executed on the same day Haruno is, ANBU."

"Jiraiya, you will regret this."

"Threatening the hokage in front of the ANBU, another crime," Jiraiya snorted as the two was hauled away by the masked shinobi. "Kami-sama, I am sorry for all my sins. I just want a reprieve."

"That's funny Jiraiya," Tsunade's haughty voice interrupted his monologue.

"I thought you left."

"I did. I'm just a shadow clone."

"What do you want?"

"Sensei wants to tell you that this is punishment for everything you did and didn't do."

"What does that mean?"

"You messed up with your granddaughter."

"I don't have any children!"

"We did."

"I never had any~" he continued his protest. "We did?"

"Minato," she nodded solemnly.

"That night?" he asked in disbelief. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I thought you'd find out on your own." Tsunade-clone said. "I mean seriously how many blondes are there in Konoha?"

"W-what~"

"Jiraiya, there are not many blondes in Konoha besides the Yamanaka." She sighed in exasperation. "The other ones are either orphans from out of Konoha and the Senju, and there is only one Senju left in this village."

"You said he had a daughter?" he gave up trying to think about his son and focused on his granddaughter.

"Open your eyes Jiraiya," the clone snapped. "She's practically a clone of both Minato and Kushina, how couldn't you have seen that?"

"Natsu," he collapsed to the floor in realization.

"Natsu Suki Uzumaki Namikaze Hatake."

"Hatake?" his head rose from his hands. "Kakashi that bastard, I won't allow it."

"You cannot think that just because you know who she is now you have power over her."

"She's my granddaughter!" he rose from his position on the floor and glared at Tsunade.

"Now you acknowledge that?" she snorted. "You wouldn't even look at Natsu because all she was to you was the Kyuubi container. She wasn't even a young girl to you. In your derisive mind she was the girl who took your pupil away from you."

"Minato died sealing the nine tailed fox into her. He was my student and my son!"

"You didn't know that until I told you two minutes ago."

"It doesn't matter because I treated him like my son even though I didn't know."

"You can't just come barging into her life because I told you the truth about her heritage."

"I can and I will."

"What gives you the right to do that when all those years ago you left her to fend for herself?" Tsunade asked him. "Sarutobi-sensei asked you to take her with you because he knew she would be ostracized because of something she had no control over and you refused."

"My spy network was important to keep the village up and running."

"Your spy network hasn't been contacting Konoha for years Jiraiya. They've slacked off and so have you."

"That's impossible; I have reports proving my spies have been in constant contact with sensei."

"Those files are either wrong or falsified."

"MY spies are honest and they do their jobs!"

"When was the last time you had direct contact with any one of them?" she smirked at the lack of response. "I thought so. You have no right to stop Natsu from doing whatever she wants, she's been married to Kakashi for almost two years now and you don't have the authority to annul their marriage."

"Two years? She's only ten going on eleven years old!"

"In our society she can be married as soon as she wears that headband."

"I saw her, she was pregnant!"

"Side effects of having the kyuubi in her," Tsunade said. "And if you haven't noticed she's also an adult now both mentally and physically."

"How did I miss so much?"

"You were off gallivanting around doing what you call your 'research' while our granddaughter was in this village taking the brunt of the villagers' anger."

"They didn't~"

"The war was long over but it seemed as if she had gone through even the worst interrogation techniques we could never have imagined." Having relayed her message, the clone decided his time was up. "We've been planning this for the past half a year and were finally able to successfully execute our plans only a month and a half ago."

"What are you talking about?"

"Look through your ninja roster," she said. "You'll notice that you barely have a fourth of the total ninja population under your command. What the villagers never realized it was Natsu who was protecting them and she was only too happy to take the blame for something she didn't do but once she became Kakashi's wife, she couldn't have imagined the impact that would've done to her. His attitude is all about protecting her and their family from every danger. He resigned as a ninja after the third attempt of the Root ANBU to kill her. Sensei granted his resignation and it all followed."

"I messed up big time."

"You did," she agreed. "And now it's too late for you to make it up to her."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"Why am I the only one she hates?" he asked. "You were also gone, wallowing in your depression over Dan and Nawaki's deaths."

"For that exact reason," the clone replied. "I had people to grieve over and I was also told by ANBU, now that I think about it he was a Root ANBU, that both Kushina and the child were killed. I couldn't take the loss so I ran with Shizune."

"My student died that night."

"But you knew that his daughter was alive," she retorted. "You knew that the child he sealed the demon into was his own daughter and yet you left her. You blinded yourself with your pain and refused to acknowledge that she is Minato's daughter. It was the least you could've done for her and even her father's memory to take care of her."

"How do I tell her I'm sorry?"

"She probably won't believe you but I'll give her the message anyway."

"Where will you be going?"

"With Natsu," the clone said. "I will oversee her delivery."

"Will you tell me?"

"No, she doesn't want you hounding her for forgiveness just because you know of her real relationship with you."

"But~"

"Goodbye Jiraiya, I hope the next time we meet wouldn't be on the battlefield." She disappeared in smoke leaving the Godaime hokage to ponder his thoughts on his own.

"It wouldn't be like that." His whisper echoed across the silent room. Whether he wanted to convince himself or someone else, no one will ever know.

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Konoha's security sucks."

"We all know that."

"How didn't they notice that the shinobi were leaving one by one?"

"Like I said, security sucks." Another scream riddled with pain came from the room, even with the door closed, it was all too clear.

"How long has she been in there?"

"Four hours."

"Is Kakashi in there too?"

"He's inside."

"I do not envy him at this moment."

XoxoxoxoxoxoxoX

"Tsunade-sama wouldn't it be better to have a C-section?" his silver hair in their usual spikes, facial features haggard as he held his wife's hand.

"We can't," the medic nin replied. "We did that with Kushina and she bled out too fast, it's an Uzumaki trait."

"I am telling you that you can do that to Natsu and she and the kits will be safe." Red hair and red slitted eyes glared onto the blonde woman's.

"What makes you say that?"

"I was once sealed in her, there have been side effects of our merging that you wouldn't believe but accelerated healing is one of them."

"I still don't think~"

"How long have you known Natsu?" Kyuubi interrupted.

"I've known her, her whole life."

"Have you?" the retort was sarcastic. "What's her favourite food? What about her favourite color?"

"I-I don't know."

"That's because you were never there for her. I, on the other hand, was. I've raised her as my own and I know what her strengths and weaknesses are. Do you know any of that?"

"Kaa-chan, stop bothering baa-chan about that." The voice was weak and pained but their owner continued anyway. "It's not her fault her brother and fiancé died during the war. She's sorry she left so give her a break." She gasped and panted as the contractions continually hit her.

"What do you want to do?" Kakashi asked his tired wife.

"Kaa-chan, how sure are you that I'll survive a C-section unlike my mother?"

"A hundred percent sure," the conviction in the redheaded woman's voice was one you couldn't counter.

"Then that's what we'll do." Decisiveness echoed in her tone even though she was weary. "I'm sorry baa-chan, I wanted to do this your way but I am way too tired. It's been fourteen hours and nothing has changed."

"I understand." Tsunade said. "I'll call Shizune and tell her to prep for a C-section."

"Arigatou baa-chan."

"You're welcome gaki." She exited the room without looking back. A few moments later she came back with Shizune hot on her tail. More screaming ensued.

* * *

**AN: So what did you think ne?**

**Love lots,  
**

**Allie  
**


	21. Epilogue: Another New Beginning

**AN: I'm so sorry for the long wait but I've been so busy I haven't had much time to update my stories. Okay, I've decided to make this story in installments so this shall be the end of book one. There will be a sequel although I'm not sure when. R&R please!**

* * *

Epilogue

2 years later

"Uzukage-sama, the Godaime Hokage is at the gates." a guard informed the silver haired male sitting on his throne. "He is asking to have an audience with you." Kakashi sighed deeply before answering.

"Let him in," he ordered. "Let them keep their weapons but keep an eye on them. Have SWIRL escort them into the throne room."

"Hai, Uzukage-sama!"

"I'm not going to talk to him." the voice that came from behind him was stern, her tone final. She emerged from the shadows wearing a light blue kimono with a long train that trailed behind her as she walked. Husband and wife wore nothing to show that they were the leaders of their village except for the lavish clothes.

"It's been two years Natsu," he reminded her. "Isn't it time to forgive him?"

"I have long since forgiven him, but that doesn't mean that I want anything to do with him." he reached out for her as he rose, his height still towering over her lithe frame.

"It's your choice." he promised as he pulled her into an intimate embrace. "I just wanted you to get closer to your real family."

"I chose which family I wanted to be with when I left Konoha two years ago." she reminded him. Before he could reply, there was a voice coming from somewhere further inside their castle.

"Do you have to go see?" Kakashi asked, unwilling to break their close proximity.

"I should check on the twins."

"Which one?"

"Both of them," she gave him a chaste kiss before pulling away from him.

"Alright, he's going to be here soon anyway."

"I'll see you later." she whispered.

"Uzukage-sama, might I announce Godaime Hokage of Konoha, Jiraiya-sama."

"Welcome to Uzugakure!" Kakashi rose from his seat, silently thanking that Natsu had already left when the Toad Sage was announced.

"So you're the Uzukage," Jiraiya commented as he surveyed the throne room. His eyes flickered around the spacious room, the beautiful décor dotting the place as he walked towards the throne with two of his ANBU flanking him. "It is good to see you again Kakashi."

"I'm afraid I can't say the same, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said in his lazy drawl.

"I'm not surprised," Jiraiya smiled still even when he felt a pang in his chest.

"What did you want to discuss with me?"

"Cut right to the chase, why don't you?" he was still jovial even through the undertone of dismissal. "I want to make an alliance with you."

"I'm afraid I have to decline."

"You haven't even listened to the conditions yet."

"I don't need to know your conditions to figure out what you're trying to do, Jiraiya-sama." a pair of smoky eyes glared at the older man.

"What are you talking about?"

"Did you think we wouldn't know what you'd tried to do to your other 'allies'?" Kakashi retorted. "Do you think I'm stupid enough to not see what you're trying to do? I've lost what little respect I had of you when you decided it was a good idea to take over Suna."

"Now, Kakashi, I hava a perfectly good explanation for that."

"And what would that be? They we're becoming too strong?" he tried hard to calm himself but it was difficult. "Suna was only getting back on their feet after the Fourth Kazekage's maniacal exploits and you and you're deluded council decided they would be better off under your control. I'm sorry _Hokage-sama_, I'm just not willing to do that to my people. And if you haven't noticed, we don't need you."

"Will you just listen to my proposal?" Jiraiya boomed, his voice echoing across the whole room.

"I've heard enough, take them out of here." SWIRL appeared behind the entourage from Konoha even before they could protest. They, however, were blown back by a burst of chakra from the leader. In a moment, there was silence.

"You dare attack us?" incredulity flooded Kakashi's voice at what had happened. Before Jiraiya could reply twin balls of energy flashed into the room heading directly at him. He could only stare in fascination as they spun rapidly toward him. At the last minute, they werved barely missing his ANBU and then spun back towards the throne where they landed on either side of Kakashi. "Jiraiya-sama, meet my sons, Akihito and Hirohito." he introduced them.

"Your sons?" Jiraiya could only stare at the twin boys who no doubt were Kakashi'schildren. They both had silver-blonde hair, one with his up in spikes, the other's was shoulder length and had a fringe, smoky blue eyes, no doubt the fusion of their parent's and he saw something in those eyes that scared him. They hated him. "How old are they?"

"They're only two." Kakashi stated, amusement flooding his eyes as Jiraiya's widened. "You should know who their mother is, after all she is your granddaughter."

"Where is she?" Jiraiya was furious! Here he was trying to make an ally with this new nation and he had been turned down, after which he was then almost attacked by the two "two year old" boys and now he finds out that their mother is his lost granddaughter. "Give me back my granddaughter! I have been looking for her for the past two years! Give her back to me!" he demanded.

"What makes you think she'll go with you?"

"She's my granddaughter, I'm her only family left."

"In case you're not looking, these two are her sons and I'm her husband. She has a new family now, she doesn't need you. She hasn't needed you since you left her fending for herself in Konoha."

"Tou-chan," the twins spoke simultaneously, their voices oddly harmonious.

"Is he~"

"The one~"

"Who let~"

"Those other people hurt kaa-chan?"

"Aki, Hiro, meet Jiraiya-sama Godaime Hokage of Konoha, also known as the Toad Sage, one of the Sannin and your great grandfather."

"He's not our grandfather, Hiru-jii is."

"Aki, Hiro!" a feminine voice echoed down the hall from behind the thrones. "I told you not to go into the throne room because your father is in a meeting!" furious blue eyes trained on the twins still standing by their father's feet. Behind her followed a red haired boy and a blonde haired girl both with jade eyes. The boy wore a red battle armor with a large gourd strapped to his back, the girl had her hair in four ponytails and a huge fan was strapped to her back.

"Gomenasai kaa-chan," the two blonde boys said in unison. "We just wanted to see who he was talking to."

"You two are way too articulate for two year old boys." Gaara muttered from behind his mother.

"We're smart aniki!" the two boys simultaneously answered.

"Natsu." Jiraiya called out to her but she paid him no heed.

"Let's go, you've interrupted this meeting already."

"Wait, Natsu don't go."

"It's the demon!" one of his ANBU shouted just as he launched himself to attack. Kakashi was already behind her, Gaara's cork was out of the gourd his sand leaking onto the floor and floating around both him and his mother. Temari was also at attention, her fan open, three purple moons revealed. The ANBU found himself to be frozen, unable to move. Jiraiya and the other ANBU looked behind him to see chakra strings attached to multiple parts of his body. "Let me go! The demon must be killed, her spawn has to be destroyed!" the ANBU tried to struggle against his bonds but he found himself staring into two pairs of unusual eyes.

"Aki,"

"Hiro," they called out to each other even when they didn't need to. Smoky-cerulean eyes turned red as they watched the man launch himself at their mother calling her a demon. Pupils turned into slits as their eyes turned red. The peculiar design of their father's Mangekyou Sharingan, the oddly shaped shuriken, had somehow infused with Kyuubi's own slitted one creating an all new bloodline in itself. Calmly, the pair walked towards the man who had already been trapped by their oldest brother and took off his mask.

"You called kaa-chan a demon and then you tried to attack her."

"For that we will punish you."

"One hundred forty-eight hours of your worst nightmares and your greatest fears." they said in unity. "Tsukuyomi."the man's chocolate brown eyes glazed over as his face contorted in pain. The twins collapsed in exhaustion, both being caught by either Gaara or Temari and then brought back inside the castle's chambers. Natsu followed behind after sending a look at her husband.

"You still can't control your ninja."

"What did they do?"

"They did what they said they did," Kakashi said as they watched the man writhed in pain, his face contorting in an expression of pure terror. "They punished him for his attempted attack."

"He hadn't even done anything!"

"Not yet!" Kakash stalked towards the older man. "You would have waited for something to happen before you punish him. Natsu is tired of doing that, I am too. What your man did and what you have failed to do, you have just declared war on Uzu. Get out of here."

"Their eyes, what happened to their eyes."

"It's the Hatake-Namikaze bloodline. We call it the Kyuubigan."

* * *

**AN: So this is the final chapter of The Hatake-Namikaze Bloodline, since the summary did say it was about her life I decided to just write this up as the first of a series. **

**So, for the last time in this story. **

**Tell me what you think, ne?**

**Love lots, **

**Aly **


End file.
